Talks Under Way with ‘Total’ to Supply Yangon with Liquefied Natural Gas
Total SA, a French-based multinational integrated oil-and-gas company and one of the seven “Supermajor” oil companies in the world, is in talks with Myanmar officials to supply the nation’s most populous city Yangon with liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Xavier Preel, General Manager of Total E&P Myanmar. The talks follow the country’s issuance of a request for expressions of interest for an LNG business on Sept 9 last year. The French energy giant may also build a power plant for electricity supply in Myanmar, said Preel. Total started operating in Myanmar in 1992. The company already produces gas from the Yadana field in the Andaman Sea off the country’s west coast that meets about half of its gas needs.
Sri Lanka Offers to Buy 500,000 Tonnes of Rice from Myanmar
Sri Lanka has offered to buy 500,000 tonnes of high-quality rice from Myanmar through a government-to-government channel, according to Aung Soe, Director-General of Myanmar Trade Promotion Team under the Ministry of Commerce. The offer is to buy 200,000 tonnes of parboiled rice and 300,000 tonnes of white rice. Parboiled rice, also called converted rice, is the rice that has been partially boiled in the husk.
Sri Lanka originally made the offer to purchase rice from Myanmar back in February. Now, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar leads negotiations between the two governments for the rice purchase. Myanmar will only sell rice to Sri Lanka at market price, said Dr Soe Tun, Vice-Chair of the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). The country yearly exports between 1.5 million and 2 million tonnes of rice, according to the MRF.
Myanmar previously exported rice to Sri Lanka under a similar government-to-government contract in 2007-08, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Trade value between the two countries reached $24.5 million in 2016-17 financial year, a whopping upsurge from $3.1 million in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing Meets with Indian Prime Minister
Defence Services Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk on increased military cooperation in security and defence between the two nations during his visit to India that started from July 7. Earlier, the Senior General also held discussions with Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. “There is ongoing trust between Myanmar and India. Tasks are being carried out to stabilise the border area. The leaders and military heads closely cooperate and have good relations”, said the military chief.
Describing Myanmar as a “key pillar” of India’s “Act East” policy, the Indian Prime Minister expressed his firm commitment to strengthen the bilateral relationship in all areas with the neighbouring South-east Asian nation. During the meeting, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing expressed his sincere condolences for the victims of the recent terrorist attack on pilgrims of Amarnath yatra in Kashmir.
