Min Aung Hlaing wants to develop an aerospace industry in Myanmar.
On Sunday, the junta boss met with Roscosmos deputy director general Savelyev Sergey Valentinovich to discuss cooperation in aerospace technology between Russia and Myanmar. Roscosmos is the Russian state corporation responsible for space flights, astronautic programs, and aerospace research.
Joining Min Aung Hlaing at the meeting in Yangon were Ye Win Oo, the joint secretary of the junta’s governing body, the State Administration Council (SAC), and SAC Office minister former navy chief Moe Aung. Both received medals from the Russian Defense Ministry in March for strengthening military cooperation.
Min Aung Hlaing’s advisor Nyo Saw and junta science and technology minister Myo Thein Kyaw also joined the meeting.
The two sides discussed fostering cooperation in aerospace technology, sending Myanmar students to Russia to study aerospace technology, and Russian assistance for human resources development, according to junta media.
Russia has been providing advanced training for Myanmar military officers since long before the coup. Since the coup, ties between the two countries have rapidly expanded beyond the weapons trade to a multisectoral partnership in which the two pariah regimes even cooperate in academia and religion.
During his Russia visits in July and September 2022, Min Aung Hlaing met senior officials of Roscosmos and also visited cosmodromes.
During his visit in September 2022, he met then-Roscosmos boss Dmitry Rogozin to discuss Russia’s assistance for developing human resources in science and technology.
Russian astronauts hanged the flags of the countries that attended the 7th Eastern Economic Forum-2022 at the International Space Station.
Min Aung Hlaing got a chance to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin during the visit and the two discussed cooperation in science and technology, including nuclear technology.
Myanmar opened its first nuclear technology center in Yangon in February with Russian backing. Russia has also signed an agreement to build a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar, but more than one year after signing it, blackouts have only worsened across Myanmar.
