Activities of Chairman and Alternative Chairman of the Myanmar delegation during the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly

Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ Nay Pyi Taw / October 10, 2018

(9-10-2018, Nay Pyi Taw)

Chairman of the Myanmar Delegation and Union Minister for the Office for the State Counsellor U Kyaw Tint Swe arrived back in Yangon this morning after attending the General Debate of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York, and paying an official visit to the Republic of Cuba as the Special Envoy of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

During the high level week of the 73rd Session from 25 September to 1 October, Chairman of the Delegation Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor U Kyaw Tint Swe delivered a statement at the General Debate on 28 September.

Prior to the high level week, Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe paid a visit to Washington D.C. on 26 September and called on the United States Senate Majority Leader Senator Hon. Mitch McConnell.

While attending the UN General Assembly in New York, Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe had held separate meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hon. Mike Pompeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan H.E. Mr. Taro Kono, U.S. Senator Hon. Jeff Merkley, White House National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Mr. Matt Pottinger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mr. Peter Maurer and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar Ms. Christine Burgener.

Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe attended the Myanmar-China-Bangladesh informal trilateral meeting held at the UN headquarters on 24 September on the sideline of the General Assembly. Also present at the meeting were State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China H.E. Mr. Wan Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh H.E. Mr. Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Secretary-General of the United Nations Mr. António Guterres and Special Envoy Ms. Christine Burgener. During the meeting, a three point agreement was reached: Myanmar and Bangladesh will properly solve the Rakhine issue through friendly consultations; Myanmar is ready to receive the first batch of verified displace persons who wish to return back voluntary from Bangladesh while Bangladesh side will prepare for the repatriation; and Myanmar and Bangladesh will hold a joint working group meeting as soon as possible so as to work out a roadmap and timetable for the repatriation and achieve the first repatriation as early as possible.

Moreover, Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe attended a reception hosted by the President of the United States on 24 September. The Union Minister, accompanied by Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin, also attended a working lunch hosted by UK Foreign Secretary Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MP and Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France H.E. Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the British Mission in New York on the same day.

After attending the General Debate of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor U Kyaw Tint Swe paid an official visit to Cuba as the Special Envoy of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar from 2 to 4 October 2018.

Alternative Chairman of the Myanmar Delegation and Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin also arrived back in Yangon on 3 October, after attending the General Debate of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

During the the UN Assembly high level week, Union Minister U Kyaw Tin and Norwegian Minister of International Development H.E. Mr Nikolai Astrup co-hosted an event on “Digitalization People’s Lives: 2030 Agenda in Action which was jointly organized by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, UNICEF, and Telenor at the Norwegian Mission in New York on 24 September. At the event, the Union Minister briefed the audience on the digital development in Myanmar.

Union Minister U Kyaw Tin participated in the High-Level Events on the Global call to Action on the Word Drug Problem and the Action for Peacekeeping and on the fight against tuberculosis with the theme of “United to end tuberculosis: an urgent global response to Global epidemic”. He also attended Security Council Briefing on DPRK. The Union Minister participated in the 5th ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance Ministerial Meeting, Informal ASEAN-US Ministerial Meeting, informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, and ASEAN Minsters’ meeting with the UN Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly.

Union Minister U Kyaw Tin held separate meetings with UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Ms. Pramila Patten , Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Ms. Virginia Gamba, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mr. Filippo Grandi, Under Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, and Managing Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) Ms. Debra Eisenman.

Union Minister U Kyaw Tin attended a reception in honour of the Centenary of the late President Nelson Mandela on 24 September as well as a luncheon to commemorate the 73rd Anniversary of the Independence Day of Vietnam and its Candidature for Security Council for 2020-2021 terms on 26 September.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the Treaty Event on 26 September.

The Union Minister also attended the donation ceremony for flood victims in Myanmar held at the Myanmar Mission in New York on 1 October, and received the US dollar 15,000 cash donation presented by Mr. William H. Su alias U Thein Han, President of the Myanmar-US Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the National Humanitarian Fundraising for Myanmar (NHFMM) which consists of New York based Myanmar Civil Societies.

The Union Minister also held an interview with VoA Burmese Programme on 29 September.