MFA Press Statement: State Visit by the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar His Excellency U Thein Sein, 30 January 2012

President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, His Excellency U Thein Sein, who is in Singapore on a State Visit, called on President Tony Tan Keng Yam on 30 January 2012. President Thein Sein also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who hosted lunch. During the meetings, the leaders noted the excellent state of bilateral relations at both the government-to-government and people-to-people levels. President Thein Sein briefed our leaders on the political and economic situation in Myanmar, and outlined his developmental priorities for his country. He also conveyed his appreciation for Singapore's support in Myanmar's bid to chair ASEAN in 2014 and the recent call by ASEAN Foreign Ministers for the West to lift their sanctions on Myanmar. President Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee welcomed the positive developments taking place in Myanmar and affirmed Singapore's commitment to work with the Myanmar government in various areas such as capacity building and human resource development.

Following the meetings, President Thein Sein and Prime Minister Lee witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam, and Myanmar Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin. Under the Technical Cooperation Programme, Singapore will provide training to, and share its developmental experiences with, Myanmar in three key broad areas in line with the Myanmar government's priorities, namely, Economic Development, Human Resource Development, and Public Administration. (The relevant details can be found in the attached Factsheet.)

This afternoon, President Thein Sein visited the Housing Development Board Hub. President Tony Tan and Mrs Mary Tan will host a State Banquet in honour of President Thein Sein and his spouse Daw Khin Khin Win this evening.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
30 JANUARY 2012

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Factsheet on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam and Myanmar's Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Wunna Maung Lwin signed a Memorandum of understanding on the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation
Programme on 30 January 2012 in Singapore during the State Visit of President U Thein Sein. Both countries have worked closely to establish the Singapore-Myanmar Technical Cooperation Programme to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and ncrease people-to- people exchanges. The Programme covers three broad clusters in line with the Myanmar government's priorities. These three clusters are (a) Economic Development; (b) Human Resource Development; and (c) Public Administration.

Economic Development
Singapore will offer training courses to support the Myanmar government's economic
plans and reforms. Some of the training programmes and courses under this cluster areoutlined below:

(a) Economic Planning and Development
(e.g Macro Economic Policy and Investment Promotion)

(b) Planning and Development of Urban Infrastructure

(c) Enterprise Development and Internationalisation
(e.g Developing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises)

(d) Trade Facilitation
(e.g Trade Promotion and Export, and Marketing)

(e) Tourism Development and Promotion

(f) Central Banking and Banking Supervision
(e.g Monetary Policy and Macro-Prudential Policy)

(g) Basic Law Programme
(e.g Judicial Review and Law Reform)

Human Resource Development
Singapore will offer Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) to support
Myanmar's efforts to build a base of skilled workers which will help Myanmar build up its human resource pool and economic base. Training programmes and courses will be conducted in areas like English language, Information Technology and more specialised fields such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). We have also offered training courses and relevant briefings to Myanmar officials to support Myanmar's preparations for its 2014 ASEAN Chairmanship. Some of the training programmes and courses under this cluster are outlined below:

(a) Technical and Vocational Training

(b) Briefings in Protocol and Conference Work in preparation for Myanmar's 2014
ASEAN Chairmanship

(c) English Language Training

(d) Urban Search and Rescue

Public Administration
Singapore will organise customised study visits for senior Myanmar officials to Singapore to observe our systems and policies. Some of the training programmes and courses under this cluster are outlined below:

(a) Customised Study Visits for Senior Officials

(b) Public Governance and Administration

(e.g Strategic Management and Public Financial Management)
. . . . .