Japan to offer 8 bil. yen in fresh grant aid to Myanmar

Japan will announce Monday it will provide about 8 billion yen in fresh grant aid to Myanmar to help the Southeast Asian nation build a train operation monitoring system and introduce advanced medical equipment to hospitals, sources close to the two countries' governments said Sunday.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who arrived in Yangon on Sunday, will unveil the new financial support Monday during talks with his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin and President Thein Sein in the country's administrative capital Naypyitaw, the sources said.

Since the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was launched in December 2012, Japan has pledged assistance totaling 160 billion yen to Myanmar, in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties and support Japanese companies' foray into the Myanmar market, where businesses from Europe, the United States and China also operate.

During the talks with Myanmar's president and foreign minister, Kishida is also expected to seek support from the country, which has diplomatic relations with North Korea, to resolve the issue of the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals.

The two countries will also likely reaffirm their cooperation in a study on the remains of Japanese soldiers who died in Myanmar during World War II, the sources said.

source: Global Post

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140323/japan-offer-8-bil-yen-fresh-grant-aid-myanmar