Vietnam’s Prime Minister Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc headed a high level delegation in Myanmar earlier this week where he met with President U Win Myint as well as with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who had just returned from The Hague.
Accompanied by several Ministers and other high level officials, the PM held meetings in Nay Pi Taw and visited Vietnamese economic interests in Yangon by visiting companies such as MyTel, HDBank, or the Yangon branch of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).
The two countries also signed a bilateral agreement for Myanmar and Vietnamese travelers to visit each other’s country for 30 days without visas starting on January 1, 2020.
The trip by the Vietnamese leader responds to the mutual interest of strengthening trade relations and bilateral cooperation. Vietnam is Myanmar’s ninth largest trade partner and seventh largest investor.
2020 is a strategic year for Vietnam to assert its growing influence in the region. Going through an unprecedented economic boom, the country is involved in naval tensions with its Chinese neighbor in the South China Sea. By chairing ASEAN in 2020 as well as having a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 term, only for the second time of its history, it is expected that Vietnam will use the upcoming year to advance its interest on the international and regional stages.
