A Russian delegation led by Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov arrived in Naypyitaw on Saturday for talks with junta boss Min Aung Hlaing on comprehensive economic cooperation and Russian assistance for the country’s electricity crisis, and to sign nine agreements including one that will see Russia invest in the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
During their meeting in Naypyitaw on Saturday, the junta boss and Russian minister discussed “favorable conditions for Russia to invest in Myanmar’s electricity generation and fertilizer, petroleum and petrochemical production,” according to junta media.
Representatives of the Russia’s Roscongress Foundation who accompanied the Russian minister also met separately with junta Electricity Minister Nyan Tun at ministry to discuss ongoing and future cooperation between Russian companies and Myanmar on hydro, wind, solar and thermal energy projects in Myanmar, which has suffered from chronic power outages since the coup.
On Sunday, the 5th Myanmar-Russia Intergovernmental Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission meeting took place at the Myanmar International Convention Center 2 in Naypyitaw, with about 500 attendees, including key figures in junta-run businesses and other important players in Myanmar’s economy. They included chairman of military-owned Myanmar Economic Corporation Nyo Saw, Planning and Finance Minister Win Shein, Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Minister Kan Zaw and General Mya Tun Oo.
Commission co-chairs Reshetnikov and Kan Zaw inked nine agreements on economic infrastructure, banking, education, telecommunications, technology, and humanitarian assistance, the junta media reported.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development’s press release stated an agreement was signed to invest in the Dawei SEZ in Tanintharyi Region in southern Myanmar. The agreement includes Russian investment in construction of a port and an oil refinery in the SEZ, as reported by the Russian ministry and news agencies. This information was noticeably absent from the junta media reports.
At the meeting, Kan Zaw mentioned that Myanmar-Russia trade and investment partnerships have increased by leaps and bounds since the coup. He highlighted the opportunities for Myanmar to enter the European market by cooperating with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and for Russia to expand further into the Asian market. The EAEU is an economic bloc that includes five post-Soviet states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
He invited Russian investors to collaborate in modernizing the transportation and manufacturing sectors, expressing his belief that the outcomes and agreements of this meeting would promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and generate economic benefits for both.
The 5th Myanmar-Russia Intergovernmental Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission discussed wide-ranging subjects including: cooperation in the energy, nuclear, agriculture, and mining sectors; adopting legal frameworks for increased cooperation; enhancing cooperation in geological research; the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes; opportunities in transportation, construction, information technology, telecommunications, banking, finance, manufacturing, tourism, education, science, health care, culture and sports; peaceful space exploration; the “circular economy” production model; and waste management, the junta media reported.
Myanmar’s military and Russia previously primarily engaged in arms trading. Since the coup, the two have expanded their cooperation to various sectors including investment, trade and the nuclear field.
Last month, a high-level delegation from Belarus, led by Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenknov and including business leaders, held economic discussions with coup leader Min Aung Hlaing and junta ministers. They discussed investment opportunities in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, trade, and cooperation in other special economic zones. Belarus is one of the junta’s few allies along with Myanmar’s neighbors India and China, which are funding the regime with their investments and mega-projects in Myanmar.
