MYANMAR and Russian Federation (Soviet Union) established diplomatic relations on 18 February 1948 and it reaches its 75th Anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) on 18 February 2023.
The two countries established
diplomatic relations in 1948 and Myanmar opened an embassy in 1950. The Myanmar
Ambassador who served duties in the Soviet Union was U Ohn.
Prime Minister U Nu’s
friendship visit
Myanmar Prime Minister U Nu visited
the Soviet Union between 17 October to 3 November 1955 and met with the Soviet
leaders during the visits. Myanmar and the Soviet Union established close
relations since then. During his visits, the Prime Minister signed with the
Soviet Union on assistance in the building of the nation over the independence
period and rice procurement.
Speaking at the reception ceremony of
Soviet Prime Minister Marshal Bulganin, Prime Minister U Nu said,” The
Soviet-Myanmar Trade Agreement concluded on 1 July 1955 has inaugurated an era
of the close economic relationship between our two countries. Rice is the most
important export commodity of Myanmar. At a time when we could not dispose of
our surplus rice, the decision of the Soviet Government to purchase our rice
saved us from a difficult situation. Since we are just building a new state, we
are lamentably in need of factories, kinds of machinery and technicians. We are
now in a position to purchase from the Soviet Union machinery and equipment and
to utilize the services of Soviet technicians commensurate with the purchases made
from us by the Soviet Union. With such exchanges, the economic relations in
addition to cultural exchanges between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and Myanmar can be strengthened,” according to Hanthawady Newspaper on 26
October 1955.
The Nu-Bulganin joint statement
signed in the presence of Soviet leaders at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow
was released on 3 November 1955. Hanthawady U Sein covered the news in
Hanthawady Newspaper on 5 November 1955. The statement said: “The Soviet Union
and Myanmar will base their future relations on five principles of peaceful
coexistence that were already accepted by India, Communist China and other
countries. The trade agreement inked recently by the two countries will make
closer relations and reach another step on opinion exchanges ensuring the world
peace and security.”
Myanmar journalists in
Moscow
Six Myanmar journalists came along
with Prime Minister U Nu on his trips in 1955. They are U Thaung Nyunt from
Myanma Alinn, U Yu Maung from Yangon Newspaper, U Hla Kyi from Mundine
Newspaper, U Pe Tin from New Times of Burma and Hanthawady U Sein.
In December 1970, two Soviet
journalists and Dr Lubo Mudorota and Dr Sarolov from the Soviet Union Friendship
and Culture Exchange Federation paid study tours in Myanmar. They were received
by then Myanmar literary workers committee chairman U Wun (Min Thu Wun),
Secretary U Htin Gyi (Takkatho Htin Gyi) and members U Ba Kyi (artist) and U
Myat Thu (Takkatho Myat Thu).
The Soviet journalists met Minister
Brig-Gen Thaung Dan of the Ministry of Information and Culture and visited the
Central Political Science Institute in Mingaladon and other places. They
returned on 23 December 1970, according to the news records.
Myanmar-Russia paved way
for gold and silver road
At the invitation of Prime Minister U
Nu, Soviet Prime Minister Marshal Bulganin and Communist Party General
Secretary Nikita Khrushchev came to Myanmar between 1 and 7 December 1955. They
were welcomed by thousands of people at Mingaladon Airport. During the
reception, Prime Minister U Nu said,” the statement released on 3 November 1955
is a sign of way not only for gold and silver road (Myanmar term Shwelan
Ngwelan) and but also for world peace. Such mediation is adopted by many
countries now.”
During the visit of two Soviet
leaders, they signed and released the Nu-Bulganin-Khrushchev declaration on 6
December 1955.
It said: “The leaders believe that
the peaceful co-existence can bring opportunities to cooperate in economic, cultural,
scientific and technical fields. The two countries also pledged to launch
closer bilateral ties for these sectors.”
Luxury aeroplane
As a result of the trip, Prime
Minister U Nu received an Aleutian luxury aeroplane and gifts. In January 1957,
the Soviet Union and Myanmar signed an agreement to construct a technological
institute, Inya Lake hotel and Sao San Tun Hospital in Taunggyi. The
construction processes were started in 1961. Besides these buildings,
Kyetmauktaung Dam was also constructed with the help of the Soviet Union in
1967.
Regarding these processes, Myanmar
Foreign Office released a statement containing Soviet-Myanmar trade saying “the
Soviet Union Government will assist in the development of Myanmar’s farming
industry, construction of large-scale dams and factories. In exchange, Myanmar
will have to send the rice supplies of equivalent value of materials,
technologies and manpower, but it will give for a long period if the country
has not had enough rice.”
Closer relations
The trips made by Soviet and Myanmar
leaders in 1955, the ties between the two countries became closer. In 1964, an
agreement on airline cooperation was made. Moreover, the Russian artistes went
to Myanmar to exchange culture in 1970 and the Russian sports team also played
friendly matches with Myanmar football teams, according to the records.
In September 1965, General Nay Win
visited Union Soviet Socialists Republics after being a Chairman of the
Revolutionary Council and met with Soviet Leaders Leonid Brezhnev, Aleksey
Kosygin and Anastas Mikoyan. In the 1970-1980s, they kept maintained
Soviet-Myanmar diplomatic relations.
First Myanmar hydrogeologist
According to the bilateral
educational cooperation, the student exchange programmes were launched in 1972
and Myanmar students were sent to universities in Moscow.
During the 1970s, postgraduate
students who studied Geology at Moscow University were U Maung Thynn, U Kyi, U
Hote Moe and U Thein Win. Prof Dr Pyota Klimin of the university said: “U Maung
Thin graduated from the University of Yangon majoring in Geology and arrived in
Moscow to study groundwater flow. The paper he submitted is about research on
hydrogeology, Geology in southern Myanmar. It is about the way to find
groundwater in the tropical climate. U Maung Thynn might be the first
hydrogeological geologist of Myanmar.”
1970 Soviet Cultural Arts
Exhibition
Under bilateral cultural exchange
programmes, the Cultural Arts Exhibition of the Union Soviet Socialist
Republics was organized by the Ministry of Culture of Myanmar and the Soviet
Government on the first floor of the National Museum in Pansodan in Yangon
between 19 to 27 December 1970. The exhibition supported the mutual
understating and relations between the people of Myanmar and the Soviet Union,
said the Soviet ambassador to Myanmar.
Current Russia-Myanmar
relation
Currently, the two countries maintain
mutual relations and cooperate in economic, social and education sectors and
the Russian Company Tyazhpromexport also participated in the construction of No
2 Steel Mill (Pinpet) near Taunggyi Township using Romelt’s unique Russian technology.
Moreover, military-technological
cooperation is the fact that supports the relationship between Myanmar and
Russia and the two countries keep stepping towards further cooperation in
defence sectors.
Currently, Myanmar scholars have been
sent to Russian universities 15 years ago. By 2018, over 6,000 Myanmar students
had reportedly obtained postgraduate degrees or PhD from Russian universities,
and thousands of students are still studying at Russian universities so far.
In conclusion, the Myanmar-Russia
Diamond Jubilee Diplomatic ties initiated in 1948 will support the bilateral
comprehensive cooperation on a wide scale in building Myanmar as a peaceful and
developed nation in the future.
Translated.
No comments:
Post a Comment