Friday, November 2, 2012

Danish, Norwegian premiers visit Burma

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Friday, 02 November 2012 13:55 Mizzima News

The prime ministers of both Denmark and Norway will be in Rangoon this weekend to preside over the opening of a joint diplomatic mission in the former Burmese capital.

Norwegian Premier Jens Stoltenberg and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Norwegian Premier Jens Stoltenberg and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt will preside over a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new mission on Pyay Road on Sunday at 1 pm. The Burmese government will be represented by ministers Aung Min and Soe Thane.

Ms Thorning-Schmidt is also scheduled to visit Naypyidaw where she will meet with Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The Danish prime minister’s visit serves to mark that relations between Denmark and Myanmar are reaching new heights,” said a statement from the Danish embassy. “With democratic, social and economic reform taking root in Myanmar and the EU having suspended sanctions against the country, relations between Denmark and Myanmar now enter a new phase.’

The statement said that Denmark in 2012 doubled its assistance to Burma to US $18 million, and plans to increase that amount to $23 million next year.

Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, lifted economic sanctions on Burma earlier this year. The Norwegian government is the architect of a controversial program called the “Norwegian Peace Support Initiative” which aims at rehabilitating thousands of displaced persons in eastern Burma in the near future.

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