Myanmar Celebrated World Tourism Day
Myanmar observed World Tourism Day 2015 with a message interpret out by a United Nations Development Program official from UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. Vice President Nyan Tun called for Myanmar to develop policies that will help shelter cultural heritage sites from the adverse effects of natural disasters. The government has initiated long-term plans for recovery measures in which tourism plays a significant role. The country laid out a policy for responsible tourism in 2013, which places emphasis on the active participation of civil society in ensuring a sustainable development through tourism. The country saw an inflow of over one million tourists in 2012, a figure that doubled in 2013 and is expected to reach 4.5 million this year.
Government to Assist Rice Cultivation
President U Thein Sein promised that to assist farmers in growing winter crops as current floods disrupted rice cultivation for thousands of farmers. The government would provide assistance to those who could not re-grow rice in time for the end of the rainy season to grow alternative crops during the cold season. The Ministry of Cooperatives will provide the support to people in the flood-hit areas. To prevent floods in the country, the government, in collaboration with international organizations, will expand river embankments, which will prevent the overflow of river water and improve the river system in the region. The floods that started in July hit four regions and two states, covering more than 1.4 million acres of rice farms and destroyed more than 800,000 acres, according to the data of the Ministry of Commerce.
Special Economic Zone Officially Opened
The Vice President, Nyan Htun inaugurated a $1.5 billion manufacturing complex expected to lure investments and create jobs, showcasing government work on rising the economy in the come-up to the general election. Vice President Nyan Tun unveiled the first phase of the 5,900-acre Thilawa Special Economic Zone at a ceremony at the site. The plan is for the zone eventually to host around 100 factories employing more than 40,000 people. The project’s opening will also likely boost President Thein Sein’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party as it ramps up its campaign ahead of Myanmar’s first general elections since the end of military rule. Foreign direct investment in the country of more than 50 million people jumped to $8.1 billion in the last fiscal year from $329.6 million from 2010. The International Monetary Fund also forecasts the Myanmar economy to grow 8.5 percent this year.
