Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Thursday, and the two agreed education of the young is key to the country's future development, Japanese officials said.
It is the first time that a Japanese prime minister has met the Nobel laureate and Myanmar democracy icon.
During their 35-minute meeting at the prime minister's office, Abe praised Suu Kyi for her achievements in promoting democracy in Myanmar. He also pledged to keep providing government official development assistance to build social infrastructure in Myanmar and help promote private-sector investment, according to a Japanese official who attended the meeting.
At the outset of the meeting, Suu Kyi thanked Abe for the donation of an elementary school building by Japanese lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party. Abe is also head of the LDP.
During their meeting, the two took more time discussing education issues, according to the official. Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy, told Abe that the level of education in Myanmar is very low compared with other Asian countries and asked for Japanese assistance for vocational and agricultural education for the young, the official said.
Suu Kyi's weeklong stay in Japan, the first in 27 years, ends Friday.