The White House issued the announcement during a visit with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s leader, whose victory in democratic elections past year was viewed by the Obama administration as a triumph in the president’s strategy of engaging with countries the United States had long shunned.
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He also paid tribute to the efforts made towards peace in the country, and the “enormous potential” of the country.
The trip by Suu Kyi, who like Obama is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, capped a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader after her party won a sweeping electoral victory past year. Her qualification of lifting measures that “hurt us economically” leaves scope for retaining elements of U.S. legislation targeted at the military, on the grounds they have a minimal effect on the general economy. US companies and banks have remained leery of involvement in one of Asia’s last untapped markets.
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi expressed her appreciation for the role played by the United States and other members of the worldwide community in encouraging and supporting this transformation, and President Obama affirmed continued USA support for Myanmar’s democratic transition.
“It is the right thing to do to ensure the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business, and a new government”, he said. This partnership, anchored by annual dialogues led by the U.S. Department of State and Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will allow the two countries to broaden and deepen their cooperation across a range of sectors.
In her remarks, Suu Kyi said the end of US sanctions will help the country develop its material resources. Last year, the transparency watchdog reported that Myanmar’s jade industry is worth almost half of the nation’s economic output and remains firmly in the grip of military elite, USA -sanctioned drug lords and crony companies. Some restrictions remain, pertaining to trade with North Korea, drug trafficking, military influence and the gems trade.
The President and the State Counsellor committed to mark this new era in the bilateral relationship by announcing a U.S. -Myanmar Partnership.
Human rights groups favor keeping sanctions due to military abuses in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship. The military and its associates still have huge stakes in the economy.
In January 2012, Clinton announced the US would exchange ambassadors with Myanmar after the release of several political prisoners. The military elite, US -sanctioned drug lords and crony companies have huge stakes in the economy, especially in the jade trade, which is worth almost half Myanmar’s economic output.
Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Republican Senator Cory Gardner said he will introduce legislation that would require close consultation with Congress on lifting of any sanctions. In September of that year, the military established the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and the following year changed the country’s official name to Myanmar. She also said she was eager to draw foreign visitors and investment to her country. Suu Kyi will also be courting the American business community at a dinner where tables go for as much as $25,000.
Suu Kyi is following her predecessor, Thein Sein, in choosing Beijing as the destination of her first official trip outside Southeast Asia, followed only later by Washington. As the numbers now stand, Myanmar’s Western Rakhine State hold around 125,000 people in temporary camps, where they were taken following the violence of 2012.
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“When I was first elected, Daw Suu was still under house arrest”.
