A ceremony to mark the 60th Anniversary United Nations Day was held at the Myanmar Convention Centre on Mindhamma Road in Mayangon Township this evening, with an address by the Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council Lt-Gen Thein Sein.
It was also attended by wife of the Secretary-1 Daw Khin Khin Win, Chairman of Yangon Division Peace and Development Council Commander of Yangon Command Lt-Gen Myint Swe and wife, the ministers, the chief justice, the attorney-general, the auditor-general, the chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board, the chairman of Yangon City Development Committee the mayor, the vice-mayor, the deputy ministers and their wives, Dean of Diplomatic Corps Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines Madame Phoebe A Gomez and ambassadors, Charges d’Affaires a.i. of embassies, diplomats, Resident Coordinator of the UN System Mr. Charles James Petrie, Resident Representatives and officials of UN agencies, heads of departments and enterprises concerned, representatives of social associations, local and foreign journalists, winning students of the 60th Anniversary United Nations Day Commemorative Essay, Poster and Painting Competitions and guests.
Secretary-1 delivered an address. He said: At the outset, I wish to express my pleasure at being with you to celebrate the United Nations Day. The United Nations was founded sixty years ago with the determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Today the Anniversary is celebrated with the theme “A Time for Renewal’.
We are inspired by the achievements of the World Organization throughout its long history. When we look back at its record, one cannot deny the vital role of the Organization in international relations. It has served humanity well.
The sixtieth anniversary is a milestone in the Organization’s history. The year 2005 is not only the fifth anniversary of the Millennium Summit, but also the 10th anniversary of the Copenhagen World Summit on Sustainable Development, and the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women.
The anniversaries of these important events remind us of the commitments made by the world leaders. Actually the implementation of the commitments made at different fora are mutually reinforcing.
At the 2005 United Nations Summit, the largest gathering of world leaders in the history of the Organization renewed their commitments to the Charter and the various summit declarations. The 60th Summit Declaration also stressed that reform of the United Nations is imperative. The Declaration is of crucial importance for the world organization which needs to change in order to adapt to new threats and challenges, and to continue its role as an effective global institution. The success of the process of reform is an important and urgent task for all the member states.
The world leaders assessed the progress made towards the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Leaders from many developing countries called on their counterparts from developed countries to help them achieve a series of development goals, including reducing poverty and fighting HIV/AIDS. Many countries are of the view that to attain the Millennium Development Goals on time, it is necessary to seriously look into the difficulties of the developing countries especially the world’s poorest countries such as Heavily Indebted Poor Countries which cannot achieve the MDGs because of their heavy external debt burden. Diseases such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic are beyond the control of an individual state and therefore needed to be addressed collectively.
The world leaders also recalled the outcome of the 2002 International Conference on Financing and Development at Monterrey, Mexico. They recognize that national efforts should be complemented by supportive global programmes and policies aimed at maximizing development opportunities to countries.
In Myanmar the National Development Plan, which covers the major aspects of the Millennium Development Goals, is being implemented with a view to achieving economic growth and social progress and in promoting the living standard of the people. Border Areas Development Plan has been carried out since 1989. Special Development Zones are designated to narrow the socio-economic gap among the States and Divisions, and an Integrated Rural Development Plan is laid down for the period of 2001 to 2005. Myanmar agriculture sector, which employs about sixty percent of the total labour force of the country, has great potential to lead socio-economic growth and to reduce poverty.
In Myanmar learning institutions are co-educational. Boys and girls have equal chances to pursue further studies.
The net enrollment ratio in primary education of 84.5% in 2005 is approaching the target 99% in 2015 of the MDGs. The literacy rate of 15-24 years old is 96.5% in 2005. To improve the quality of education teaching methodologies and assessment systems are changed. Teachers training schools have been upgraded to promote the professional skills of teachers.
Since the Women and Child Health Development project was launched in 2001, under-five mortality rate and infant mortality rate are decreasing steadily. The National AIDS Programme has been carried out with the cooperation of WHO and UNAIDS.
To ensure environmental sustainability the Myanmar Forest Policy has been laid down since 1995 and priority is given to maintenance of the area covered by forest which is 52.12% of the total land area.
The Government is also working in close cooperation with the United Nations Agencies to help meet the basic needs at the grass root level and the significant outcome in the health and primary education sectors is very encouraging.
On this auspicious occasion of the anniversary of the United Nations, we renew our commitment to the endeavours of the Organization for the benefit of humankind and pledge to fully cooperate with the Organization.
Next, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win read the message from Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Than Shwe (reported separately).
My Take:
India's economic interests in Myanmar (its economy has been growing at a rate of 6% since 1993) cover its agricultural and forestry industries, metals and minerals, automobile sector, IT education, tourism, and communications (also see Ancient Myanmar for its historical links to India).
However these interests are surpassed by (and are dependent on) the strategic equation. Ever since the military takeover (1988) India maintained its distance from this neighbor and as a result China swooped in with aid and military supplies, which were needed to bring order to the Shan region of northern Myanmar (a part of the Golden Triangle of opium growing areas). In return Myanmar gave the Coco Island on its coast to the Chinese, which the latter use to spy on Indian military installations and to monitor maritime traffic through the Malacca Straits.
India has since caught up with its rival and cooperates with Myanmar in the fight against drug cartels, militant groups, arms dealers, and the Pakistani ISI, all of which have formed a nexus. The communication and infrastructure links between India's northeast and Myanmar's north, both of which are affected by insurgency, will depend on the strategic equation between democratic India and military-ruled Myanmar.
