ASEAN-MYANMAR

Myanmar submitted her application for ASEAN membership on 12 August 1996. At the same time, Myanmar formed a top-level National Coordination Committee headed by Secretary-1 of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to prepare for Myanmar's entry into ASEAN. Myanmar has set up an ASEAN Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Four officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received training at the ASEAN Secretariat on an attachment programme in January 1997. Two of them have joined the ASEAN Department.

Myanmar's technical preparations have been facilitated by the strides achieved in her economic development. As a member of the GATT/WTO, Myanmar is familiar with modern international trade and economic rules. Myanmar's customs tariff nomenclature is based on the HS-96 system, which is the standard that ASEAN Member Countries are adopting. English has long been a second language in Myanmar and her laws and regulations are regularly published in English. In addition, Myanmar's major trading partners and investors are from the ASEAN region.

The Minister for National Planning and Economic Development has been designated as Myanmar's representative to the ASEAN Economic Ministers while the Director-General of Investment and Company Administration is Myanmar's equivalent of a SEOM Leader. The Director-General attended the consultations with SEOM in Surabaya in February 1997 and in Ho Chi Minh City in April 1997.

A second group of four officials from Myanmar's National AFTA Unit and Customs Department spent two weeks at the ASEAN Secretariat in March and April 1997. A delegation of ASEAN Directors-General made an official visit to Myanmar in April 1997. A SEOM delegation also made an official visit to Myanmar in April 1997. These familiarization visits were part of the on-going efforts of officials from ASEAN and Myanmar to develop a closer working relationship prior to the admission of Myanmar into ASEAN.

As a member of the GATT/WTO, Myanmar is familiar with modern international trade and economic rules. Myanmar's customs tariff nomenclature is based on the HS-96 system, which is the standard that ASEAN Member Countries are adopting

In November 1996, the Secretary-General of ASEAN made an official visit to Myanmar. The Secretary-General met with the Chairman of SLORC and Prime Minister of Myanmar, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, and the Minister for National Planning and Economic Development. In addition, four ASEAN Secretariat officials conducted a two-day briefing for senior Myanmar officials in Yangon in April 1997.

Myanmar has agreed in principle to provide visa-free facilities to diplomats and officials from ASEAN Member Countries as well as ASEAN Secretariat staff upon her entry into ASEAN. Having established a mission in Bandar Seri Begawan, Myanmar plans to reopen her embassy in Phnom Penh to complete Myanmar's diplomatic presence in all the Southeast Asian capitals.