Myanmar Delegation led by U Thaung Tun, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and Chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC), attended the “Roundtable Discussion with French Companies” in Paris, France and the third edition of the “Belt and Road Summit” in Trieste, Italy from 18 to 22 November 2019.
During his visit to France, the Union Minister met separately with the Former Prime Minister, Founder of Leaders for Peace and President of the Prospective and Innovation Foundation H.E Mr. Jean Pierre Raffarin, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France H.E. Mr. Jean Yves Le Drian, Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister Mr.Bertrand Lortholary as well as with representatives of the business community. The Minister was accompanied by the Ambassador of Myanmar to France H.E U Kyaw Zeya and the Deputy Director General of Directorate of Investment and Company Administration U Soe Myint Aung.
The Minister participated in the roundtable discussion with French companies which are members of Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), the principal organization for the business community in France. He highlighted the investment opportunities in Myanmar and sectors where cooperation between Myanmar and France could be further enhanced. He invited the French companies to invest in Myanmar in such sectors as electricity, energy, oil and gas, water resource management, environmental conservation and forestry management.
The Minister also had separate meetings with the Director General of Business France, the Director of French Development Agency (AFD), the General Manager of the Exploration-Production Division of Total Oil Company and the Vice President of Électricité de France (EDF) group.
The Minister participated in the third edition of the “Belt and Road Summit” in Trieste, Italy on 21 November 2019. The summit was organized by the European House-Ambrosetti in cooperation with the China Development Institute. It brought together government, business leaders and scholars from Asia, Europe and Africa to exchange views on the Belt and Road Initiative. The summit was attended by over 180 participants from 9 countries.
The Minister delivered a keynote speech at the panel discussion on “Bringing the belt and road to the next phase: moving factories not goods”. The Minister highlighted the opportunity for countries along the Belt and Road to contend with emerging issues and trends as they navigate their transition to the Fourth Industrial Era. He spoke of the change and transformation in Myanmar and the potential to boost connectivity among the countries along the “Belt and Road”.
While in Italy, the Minister met with the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy H.E Mr. Ivan Scalfarotto and discussed matters relating to investment promotion, economic cooperation and promotion of closer bilateral ties. He also met with the representatives of the private sector in Milan. He was accompanied by the Chargé d'Affaires of the Myanmar Embassy in Rome, Daw Lynn Marlar Lwin and the Deputy Director-General of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, U Soe Myint Aung.
