Obama spoke after an Oval Office meeting Wednesday with Suu Kyi.
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Suu Kyi is a former political dissident in the country and earlier this year in March her government took power.
The latest round of sanctions relief will not entirely loosen the screws on Myanmar’s military, which ran the country for decades and still controls important government functions like its borders and armed forces.
He mentioned the ongoing transition to democracy in Myanmar is a good news story. “We want everybody who is a citizen of our country to be afforded the full rights of citizenship”. “Communal strife is not something we can ignore”, she explained. The company said it is “actively pursuing” deepwater opportunities in Myanmar.
“In part because of the progress that we’ve seen over the last several months, I indicated, after consulting with Daw Suu, that the U.S. is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Myanmar for quite some time”. Removing barriers to trade and investment also will give US business more leverage vis a vis China, which has been Myanmar’s chief source of foreign investment for years. He reiterated that the United States would continue its strong support, both diplomatically and through assistance programs, for the priorities expressed by the State Counsellor.
This month she met with former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who she invited to lead an advisory commission investigating violence in Rakhine state. Now, we’ve seen significant democratic reforms inside of Myanmar. “It’s an issue that’s important to a lot of people, and I just found her to be somewhat arrogant about the issue and dismissive, and I was very put off by her lack of concern”, Corker said.
For two decades, US presidents have renewed an executive order declaring a “national emergency” with respect to Myanmar annually.
“I think this will give the United States, our businesses, our nonprofit institutions, a greater incentive to invest”, Obama said.
US economic trade sanctions on the once-isolated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar are being eased to support the country’s transition toward democracy and a market economy.
The measure will become effective on November 13th and should facilitate job creation, and other benefits in the country.
The U.S. eased broad sanctions since Myanmar began political reforms five years ago, but kept in place targeted restrictions on military-owned companies and officials and associates of the former ruling junta. The status will grant Myanmar tax privileges on exports to the world’s largest economy and in turn fuel foreign investment into the industrial sector.
It added that President Obama welcomed Burma’s commitment to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, in an effort to reintegrate into the global financing system.
They also shared interest in enhancing bilateral economic engagement and exchanging views on laws and practices that affect bilateral investment flows and foreign investment, including the elements of a high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Yet Suu Kyi had declined to use the term “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim population that has lived in Myanmar for generations, angering rights activists who had hoped she would reverse discriminatory policies that have marginalized the Rohingya and prompted many to flee.
Although some curbs on ties to the military and some individuals will probably stay in place, scrapping the order would bring clarity to U.S. companies considering business there. In 2017, Myanmar will complete and publish a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) of national capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hailed the announcement as “historic”.
