Yangon, 13 April 2004 –  The  First  Meeting of the  Philippines-Myanmar  Joint  Commission for  Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) ended yesterday with a firm commitment by both countries to further strengthen their cooperation in several areas such as trade and investment, tourism, agriculture, education, culture, information and communication technology, health, as well as mining.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert, who co-chaired the landmark Meeting together with her counterpart, Foreign Minister U Win Aung, reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to pursue a more dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship with Myanmar.

“After 47 years of diplomatic ties and high-level exchanges, we now have activated a mechanism to move our relations forward. Certainly, the opportunities presented by this meeting will contribute immensely to the mutual development of the common aspirations of our two countries,” the Secretary said.

“I also consider this historic meeting as a watershed in our relations because we have the business sector with us who will be responsible in putting meaning to our economic relations,” she added.

Secretary Albert stressed two major incentives as the reasons for the two countries’ diplomatic “breakthrough”: 1) market oriented economic policies which serve to stimulate and accelerate economic development; and 2) membership in ASEAN which has provided the fillip for revitalizing Philippine-Myanmar relations.

Recognizing the need to expand cooperation on trade and investment, the Philippines and Myanmar agreed to explore joint venture arrangements in the following areas: food manufacturing, jewelry production, furniture and woodworks as well as mining. They also agreed to encourage information exchange and networking between Philippine and Myanmar business organizations to further boost existing trade and investment ties.

Secretary Albert noted the important role of air links in facilitating the promotion of trade and tourism between the two countries.

“The Philippines recognizes the vital role of air links in our social and economic development. We welcome the scheduled air consultation talks by our civil aviation authorities at the end of this month to discuss the possibility of forging a new air transportation agreement and having direct flights between Manila and Yangon,” she said.

The Philippines and Myanmar also reiterated their commitment to implement the Agreement on Culture Cooperation signed in 1998 as soon as possible and to pursue possible initiatives, such as promotion and preservation of cultural heritage and archaeological sites and exchange of visits between officials of the National Library and National Museum of the two countries.

Secretary Albert emphasized the need for the Philippines and Myanmar to expand their cooperation in the field of education and training by facilitating bilateral cooperation between education and training institutions of the two countries.

“We have agreed to look for ways to resume the HRD package of assistance program for Myanmar within the framework of a new bilateral cooperation agreement and through third country funding arrangements. I am happy to note that a number of Myanmar nationals were able to take advantage of the scholarships in the two years that the MOU was implemented. We look forward to hosting more Myanmar students once we have the new MOU,” she said.

In expressing her satisfaction on the outcome of the inaugural JCBC, Secretary Albert added that the two countries can capitalize on the opportunities generated by the Meeting to contribute to their respective national development efforts.

“This Meeting has underscored our common commitment to pursue a strong, stable, and dynamic bilateral relations with each other. I am confident that the inaugural JCBC will advance the momentum of our relations in the years ahead and provide the impetus for a more dynamic cooperation in other areas of mutual benefit,” she said. END.