Facing an economic disaster triggered by the coup three years ago, and a war moving closer to the capital, the military regime is seeking new business partners in the Eurasian Economic Union.
The union comprises its major arms supplier and key ally, Russia, and four former Soviet republics, three of which are micro states.
A joint working group to enhance cooperation between Myanmar and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) met for the first time on Tuesday in Naypyitaw. The commission is the executive body of the union and manages its day-to-day business.
A memorandum of understanding signed between the regime and the EEC at the 26th International Economic Forum in Russia’s Saint Petersburg in June 2023 was discussed at the meeting.
Officials who attended the meeting included European Union-sanctioned junta investment and foreign economic relations minister Kan Zaw, the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Embassy in Myanmar, and Sergey Glazyev, the EEC’s commissioner for integration and macroeconomics.
Over 100 business owners from the union’s member countries and executives from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry also attended the meeting.
The two sides discussed the potential for cooperation in manufacturing, agri-industry, finance, transport and logistics, energy, tourism and digitalization, according to junta media.
Kan Zaw overstated the potential benefits of direct flights between Myanmar and Russia for bilateral trade and tourism. The minister also vowed to launch direct flights with other members of the union, even though Myanmar is engulfed in war.
A joint statement was released following the meeting. Junta media, however, did not disclose its details.
The EEC delegation led by Sergey Glazyev also met junta boss Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Wednesday. The two discussed trade, direct payments, direct flights, and cooperation in agriculture, oil and gas and textiles between the regime and the EEC.
The ties between Russia and the military regime have expanded beyond the scope of the arms trade and military training since the coup. The two pariah regimes now closely collaborate in almost every sector.
Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing attended the 7th Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, in 2022. Russian economic development minister Maxim Reshetnikov and hundreds of Russian business owners visited Naypyitaw to seek business opportunities with the junta.
After suffering from economic sanctions coupled with the withdrawal of foreign investment, a tax resistance campaign, and US sanctions against the two state-owned banks that supply foreign currency to the regime, the junta is now seeking closer relations with former Soviet republics. Besides Russia, the union comprises three micro states, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Kazakhstan.
