| Foreign affairs Category Listing |
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| Ministry of Foreign affairs |
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The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Myanmar consists of 7 Departments and its
headquarters in Yangon and has 37 Myanmar Missions accredited to foreign
countries.
7 Departments are as
follows :--
- Minister's Office;
- Political Department;
- Department of ASEAN Affairs;
- Department of Foreign Languages;
- International Organizations and Economic Department;
- Consular, International Law and Treaties and Research Department; and
- Protocol Department.
When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established as
the Department of Foreign Affairs on 17 March, 1947, it had only a total of nine
personnel- one official and eight clerical staff. Since then, the organizational
strength of the Ministry had been gradually expanded stage by stage in order to
successfully fulfill the needs of the Ministry. Until 30 April 1997, the the
Ministry consisted of 5 Departments and had 36 Missions abroad .On 27 May 1997,
a new Myanmar Embassy was opened in Brunei Darussalam and the total number of
Myanmar missions stationed in foreign countries reaches 37.
In Yangon , the capital city of Myanmar 26 foreign countries
had opened their Embassies and there is a Consulates- General Office of Peoples
Republic of China in Mandalay and also a Consulates- General Office of
Bangladesh was opened in Sittway .Altogether 35 Ambassadors has been
jointly accredited to Myanmar, Moreover, UNDP, UNICEF, WFO, WHO, UN- Anti Drug
Control Programme and UNHCR offices were opened in Yangon.
Myanmar Missions in Geneva and New York are responsible for
matters relating to the United Nations and International Organizations.
There are also two Consulates General stationed in Hong Kong and Kumming,
mainly carrying out trade and consular matters.
International Relations
In
the history of Myanmar, international and diplomatic relations have existed
since ancient times. in 801-802 A.D., a Pyu monarch of Myanmar sent envoys
to China via Nan Cho and established foreign relations.
King Anawrahta, Bayin Naung and
Alaung Paya ,during their reign integrated small states and
establishedconsolidated Myanmar Naing Ngan. During these periods,
political, economic, diplomatic and cultural ties with Sri Lanka, Assam, Manipur,
Bengal, India, China, Lin Zin (Laos), Ayuthaya (Thailand), Anan
and Champa ( Vietnam), Yun ( Cambodia) and Malay had been in force.
Independent and Active Foreign Policy
Independent sovereign nations , in
dealing with other independent States, have laid down and exercised such foreign
policies as to serve their national interests. Such a foreign policy, which is
the consequential outcome of the domestic policy of the country concerned
is laid down to uphold the interest of the nation. The Union of Myanmar also
laid down a foreign policy compatible with the prevailing conditions of
the State and world situation that could serve most the interest of Myanmar. It
was an independent and active foreign
policy.
The Union of Myanmar pursues an
independent and active foreign policy and maintains friendly relations with all
countries of the world and has close and cordial relations with all
neighbouring countries. The basic concepts of Myanmar foreign policy are as
follows :
- Myanmar steadfastly adheres to the ideals
of world peace and security. In this direction, it cooperates
consistently with the United Nations and other international
organizations on the basic of , and in accordance with , its
independent and active foreign policy.
- In international relations, Myanmar
consistently upholds the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence
namely respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non
-aggression, non- interference, equality and mutual benefit, and
peaceful settlement of disputes.
- Myanmar firmly opposes imperialism,
colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, racial discrimination,
domination and subjugation.
- Myanmar supports the right of
self-determination in the choice of ideology and social system.
- In keeping with its national interests,
Myanmar participates in regional and international fora.
Diplomatic Relations
Myanmar maintains
diplomatic and consular with 84 countries in all five continents of the
world. Myanmar has established embassies in 30 countries namely
Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan,
Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia. In addition, there are
Myanmar Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
It also maintains Consulates- General in Hong Kong and in Kunming.
There are 27 foreign embassies resident in Yangon. There is also a
Consulate- General of the People's Republic of China in Mandalay and a
Consulate- General of Bangladesh in Sittway. Two offices of the Honorary
Consulate have also been opened. There are 37 Ambassadors who have
concurrently accredited to Myanmar. The United Nations is represented by UNDP,
UNICEF, FAO, WHO, UNDCP and UNHCR offices in Yangon.
Five Principles of Peaceful co-existence
In
accordance with its independent and active foreign policy, the Union of Myanmar
has constantly participated in international and regional affairs. In order to
safeguard world peace, it is necessary to practice peaceful co-existence between
countries with differing political and social systems on the basis of respect
for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression,
non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and equality and mutual
benefit, and the basis of the Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference.
Peace is essential for Myanmar and
necessary for the world to maintain peace and prosperity. Accordingly, peace in
the region and the world as a whole is the unaltered and unchangeable principle
of the foreign policy of Myanmar. Myanmar has been working persistently for
friendship with world nations particularly with neighbouring countries.
" Shorten animosity and prolong amity
", a saying in Myanmar, is a principle of Myanmar foreign policy.
- Respect for each other's sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
- Mutual non-aggression.
- Non-interference in each other's internal
affairs.
- Equality and mutual benefit.
- Settlement of disputes between nations by peaceful means and by the Ten Principles of
theBandung Conference.
Ten Principles of the BANDUNG Conference
The Asian-African conference was held
at Bandung, Indonesia in 1955, at the end of the Conference the Final Communiqué
was issued on April 24, 1955 as follows:--
- Respect for fundamental human rights and
for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United
Nations.
- Respect for the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of all nations.
- Recognition of the equality of all races
and of the equality of all nations large and small.
- Abstention from intervention or
interference in the internal affairs of another country.
- Respect for the right of each nation to
defend itself, singly or collectively, in conformity with the
Charter of the UnitedNations.
- Abstention from the use of arrangements
of collective defense to serve the particular interests of any
of the bigPowers .
- Abstention by any country from exerting pressures on other countries.
- Refraining from acts or threats of
aggression or the use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independenceof any country.
- Settlement of all international disputes,
by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration
of judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the
parties' own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United
Nations.
- Promotion of mutual interests and
co-operation.
- Respect for justice and international
obligations.
Myanmar and the United Nations
Myanmar applied for the membership
in the World Organizations after regained Independence in 1948 , with
unanimous approval of the UN Security Council and General Assembly , Myanmar
became the member of the United Nations on 19 April 1948.
Myanmar is working in cooperation with
specialized UN Agencies and Programmes. They are International Labour
Organization(ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO), UN Educational and
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Health organization ( WHO),
International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), World Bank, International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), World Postal Union, International Telegraph Union (ITU),
World Meterological Organization (WMO), International Maritime Organization (IMO
), International Fund for Agriculture Development ( IFAD), International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT), and United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Myanmar has also been cooperating with UN agencies such
as the United nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development ( UNCTAD) and United Nations Drug Control Programme (
UNDCP).
ASEAN and Myanmar
Myanmar was invited to become
a member of ASEAN in 1967 when the Association of South -East
Asian Nations was founded . But due to the policies and priorities of
Myanmar and then international and regional situations , Myanmar placed greater
emphasis on promoting bilateral ties with
ASEAN member countries rather than the entry to ASEAN.
In line with the prevailing world conditions and
in consonance with policies, aims and objectives, the government started to work
earnestly for regional cooperation. Accordingly, Myanmar took steps for
entering into the regional grouping , ASEAN. Myanmar applied for full fledged
membership of ASEAN in August 1996 and became a full fledged member
country on 23 July, 1997.
Myanmar and BIMST-EC
Although Myanmar is a
South-East Asian nation , it is geographically situated as a bridge between
South Asia and South East Asian region. To take an active part in regional
cooperation , Myanmar decided to become a member of BIST-EC , an economic group
made up of South-East Asian and South Asian countries. BIST- EC comprising
Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand was formed on 6 June, 1997. When
Myanmar became a member of the economic cooperation group on 22 December, 1997,
the name of the grouping was officially changed as BIMSTEC-EC. As a member of
the grouping , Myanmar hope to achieve positive results from economic
cooperation among member countries and the programme for transfer of
research and technology.
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