Time for Myanmar to catch up with rest of SE Asia: PM Lee

Myanmar needs to make up for lost time and develop not just its policies but the team leading the country, to bring it forward in a united way, says Prime Minister Lee.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shakes hands with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during a meeting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on June 7, 2016. (Photo: AP/Aung Shine Oo/Pool)


YANGON: Myanmar has fallen behind the rest of Southeast Asia and it is now time for the country to catch up, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Speaking to Singapore media at the end of his three-day official visit on Thursday (Jun 9), Mr Lee observed that today’s achievements in Myanmar was the objective of the revolution over the last 20 years.

But he acknowledges that Myanmar faces a formidable task of nation-building. Myanmar has a long way to go but “it needs to catch up for lost time and its needs to develop, not only its policies but also the capability and the team who can make the policies and lead the country forward in a united way and unite the country in order to improve the lives of the people".

"So in that, we’re supportive of the Myanmar government. I think they have a tough job. I’m sure they’ll be strengthening their team; I wish them well,” Mr Lee said.

He added that he understands that Myanmar will be pre-occupied with nation-building and domestic affairs, but he noted: “At the same time, we cannot just shut out the outside world. And they’re living in Southeast Asia, and ASEAN is a Southeast Asian grouping, cooperative grouping where we work together and which can be helpful to Myanmar. Helpful in terms of economic cooperation, integration and therefore, win-win prosperity, but also helpful in terms of making our voice heard in the world. Because as individual countries, you count for very little - but as ASEAN as a group, well, most of the time if there’s a major discussion going on in the world whether it’s climate change, whether it’s trade, whether it’s regional security - ASEAN will be at the table.”

Through ASEAN, Mr Lee said each of the small nations within Southeast Asia “can have a voice in world affairs". "And I think that they took our point, they took my point, they understand it," he said. "Naturally they find ASEAN’s processes a significant undertaking because they’ve so many meetings, so many issues and continuous discussions and to-ings and fro-ings. But there is an overall objective to it and you find some way to manage all the business but preserve that overall objective."

"Myanmar has a role within ASEAN to play and we hope we’ll be able to help them.”

US VISIT TO MARK "VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP" WITH OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

On having a voice on world matters, Prime Minister Lee also reflected on the upcoming state dinner at the White House in August, which he is attending at the invitation of President Barack Obama. The invitation comes as both countries mark 50 years of diplomatic ties.

Mr Lee said attending the dinner would signal the importance of the US to Singapore and how the US is regarded in Southeast Asia.

The Prime Minister added that Singapore welcomes China's development and its growing influence in the region, but at the same time, it values American engagement. "We don't see China's growing influence as necessarily being at the expense of America's contributions to the region, or Singapore's relations with the US.”

Mr Lee noted that it is good to cultivate relations with the US given how the Obama administration has put great effort to focus on the Asia-Pacific.

He said: “They talk about rebalancing towards-Asia Pacific; Obama has paid a lot of attention. He himself has attended ASEAN meetings regularly. It was his administration in the first term that the US joined the East Asia Summit.

"My visit is to mark what has been a very good relationship with Obama administration, and I hope to see how we can keep things going beyond November and January into the next administration which everyone is waiting to see how the election will turn out in the US.” 

(Source : channelnewsasia.com)

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