Quality control will be critical for Myanmar to increase exports to Europe, Union Commerce Minister U Win Myint said during the historic meeting of the European Union-Myanmar Task Force in Naypyitaw earlier this month.
U Win Myint was speaking at the end of a broad-ranging first meeting of the task force, which covered such topics as aid, financial support, political and economic reforms, and human rights as well as trade.
The minister, who said exporters were planning to ship more quality rice, broken rice and fishery products to the European Union market, acknowledged that export volumes were low.
“I hope export volumes will rise but quality control will be essential to achieving a bigger share in the EU over the long term,” U Win Myint told Mizzima Business Weekly on the sidelines of the meeting.
His comments came on the same day that the EU and Myanmar signed a package of accords covering small and medium enterprises, raw materials, agriculture, long term cooperation in developing the tourism industry and cooperation with the European Investment Bank.
A framework agreement on extending the bank’s lending operations to Myanmar in 2014 is expected to be concluded before the end of the year.
The bank’s director general for lending outside the EU, Dr Tamsyn Barton, said it invests in both the government and private sectors.
“We can lend directly to private companies, and also to banks in the private sector, if we are satisfied they meet standards that we require, such as financial, environmental, social and ethical standards,” Dr Barton said.
“I am hoping that in the next year we will be financing projects in, for example, water and sanitation, transport, economic infrastructure, social infrastructure and also small and medium enterprises,” she said.
The creation of the task force, agreed during a visit by President Thein Sein to Brussels in March, is an example of the close relationships that Myanmar has been forging with Western countries since the reform process began in 2011.
Optimism for the future of the relationship between Myanmar and the EU was reflected in a joint statement issued by the task force after the two-day meeting ended in Naypyitaw on November 15.
“The Task Force is the most visible expression of the strong partnership between the EU and Myanmar and our joint commitment to taking forward reform in Myanmar,” said the statement, signed by EU high Representative Catherine Ashton and President’s Office Minister U Soe Thane.
“We will work together for a democratic and prosperous Myanmar in which diversity and respect for human rights contribute to a dynamic and plural society, in which democracy brings inclusion of all political and ethnic groups on an equal footing, and in which an open and stable political community makes Myanmar a magnet for foreign investment and job creation,” the statement said.
On the issue of doing business in Myanmar, the statement referred to recommendations from European companies with an interest in the country on the need to foster a “stable and predictable” business environment.
“To this end, the Task Force agreed on the importance of reducing administrative burdens, improving access to finance, protecting property rights, increasing skills and training capacities, ensuring corporate social responsibility, stabilizing electricity supply and on supporting the development of small and medium enterprises,” it said.
In another move aimed at strengthening economic links, the task force agreed to set up an EU-Myanmar Business Council to provide advice to the Myanmar government.
On development aid, the statement said Myanmar was expected to become one of the leading beneficiaries of EU development cooperation in Asia from 2014 to 2020.
“Subject to final programming decisions and EU budgetary approval this should be around 90 million [euros] per annum – a 20 percent increase from current levels.”
The EU has said it plans to focus on rural development, education, governance and support for peace building in its aid cooperation program in the coming years.
source: Mizzima
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