Myanmar seeks to learn from Vietnam's development experience

Myanmar wants to learn from Vietnam's development experience, President Min Aung Hlaing said during his first official visit to Vietnam in his current position. He also expressed a desire to make the countries' comprehensive cooperative partnership more effective.

Min Aung Hlaing held talks with Vietnam's General Secretary and President Tô Lâm on September 5 after an official welcoming ceremony at the National Assembly. Vietnam's Foreign Ministry described the meeting as friendly and open, with the leaders discussing developments in each country and areas of bilateral cooperation.

Tô Lâm said the visit came as relations between the two countries entered a period of new development. He said it would help reinforce political trust and create momentum for more practical and effective cooperation. He also congratulated Myanmar on what he described as important results achieved by its government after five months in office, including efforts related to stability, reconciliation, dialogue, economic development, security and people's living conditions.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen political trust through more exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts. In defense and security, they backed broader cooperation in training, young-officer exchanges, search and rescue, information sharing and the fight against transnational crime, drug crime, human trafficking, high-tech crime and online fraud. They also reaffirmed that neither country would allow individuals or organizations to use its territory against the other.

Economic, trade and investment ties were identified as an area with substantial room for growth. Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar would work to address difficulties and provide a favorable environment for Vietnamese businesses seeking to invest and operate there over the long term. The two sides also encouraged cooperation in high-tech agriculture, food processing, telecommunications, information technology, digital transformation, energy and transport infrastructure. Myanmar further expressed interest in developing digital government and the digital economy.