YANGON – Japan will provide about a ¥24 billion in new loans to Myanmar to help build power transmission grids, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told President Thein Sein on Monday in the capital city of Naypyitaw.
Kishida, who flew into Yangon on Sunday, also met with his counterpart, Wunna Maung Lwin, and confirmed Japan’s plan to provide about ¥8 billion in fresh grant aid to help build a train operation monitoring system and introduce advanced medical equipment to hospitals.
Since the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was launched in December 2012, Japan has pledged assistance totaling ¥160 billion to Myanmar to strengthen bilateral ties and to support the entry of Japanese companies looking to enter Myanmar, where they compete against businesses from Europe, the United States and China.
Kishida also made a request for cooperation from Myanmar’ on efforts to collect the remains of Japanese soldiers who died in what was then known as Burma during World War II.
A study has indicated that the remains of as many as 45,000 Japanese soldiers are in the country.
The two foreign ministers also agreed to continue to conduct military exchanges.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.