Burmese government officials were quoted in Xinhua as saying that Japan has pledged to lend Burma 25.8 billion yen (US$285 million) for development projects.
The Xinhua article also said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed the loan to his Burmese counterpart Thein Sein during their meeting in Naypyidaw on Wednesday, one of several diplomatic engagements taking place in Naypyidaw as part of the ASEAN Summit.
Abe also attended the Asean-Japan Summit and Mekong-Japan Summit in Naypyidaw on Wednesday, and on Thursday he plans to join the East Asian Summit and ASEAN+3 meeting.
The ASEAN-Japan summit on 12 November focused on promoting trade and tourism. During the summit, the group held talks on establishing an ASEAN-Japan free trade zone and developing regional transportation networks that connect with Burma’s Thilawa Special Economic Zone port.
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During Abe’s meeting with Thein Sein, the two leaders discussed health; education; construction; human resources, small and medium-sized industry development; the Thilawa and Dawei industrial zones; electric power; and the development and stability of Rakhine State, according to Burmese state-owned newspapers.
During their meeting, Abe said that Japan supports Burma’s democratic transition and the peace process, and that Japan hopes Burma will conclude a nationwide ceasefire in the near future.
*Editors note: The figure in the title: “Japan to lend Burma US$250 million” that was present in the story was incorrect and not inline with the correct figure, which is US$285 million. The story has been updated and the figure corrected.
