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MYANMAR MATTERS VolVol 18 12: : JuneJune - 2017July 2015 CELEBRATING MYANMARDEMOCRACY’S MARCHES ON TOWARDSWIN IN MYANMAR PEACE AND PROSPERITY CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PRIVATE STUDY. CIRCULATION ONLY CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH AND PRIVATE STUDY. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY TAblE Of CONTENTS OBOR PERSPECTIVE OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION MUMBAI 5 BDMS UNIT OPENS MEDICAL LAB IN YANGON 12 FORBES GIVES MYANMAR MARKETING MASTER 13 BUSINESS COVETED CAPITALIST HONOR ACCOR HOTELS TO OPEN 5 NEW HOTELS IN 13 MYANMAR BY 2019 KIAN JOO MAKES MYANMAR A PRIORITY IN 15 OVERSEAS EXPANSION INVESTMENT NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA ACQUIRES 22% IN 16 MYANMAR PAYMENTS OUTFIT ONGO NORTHERN ALLIANCE ESTABLISHES A NEW 18 NEGOTIATING BODY TO MEET WITH GOVERNMENT NATION NEWS MS. SUU KYI SAYS PEACE CONFERENCE 19 AGREEMENTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT STEP PEOPLE AND BURMESE FOOD COULD BE THE NEXT GLOBAL 21 LIFESTYLE CULINARY PHENOMENON BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER ISLANDS: EMERGING WILDLIFE MATTERS 24 CORRIDORS FOR TIGERS TRIPURA REVISES IIPIS TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT 27 AND EMPLOYMENT MYANMAR - INDIA NORTHEAST INDIA’S LARGEST IT HUB OPENS IN CONNECT - NORTH 28 TRIPURA EAST - BUSINESS for contributions, feedback & inquiries BSNL TO CONNECT ALL ASSAM GPS THROUGH on advertising opportunities in Myanmar 29 Matters, please contact : OPTICAL FIBRE IN 2017-18 NGT IN CONFLICT WITH MEGHALAYA GOVT. OVER [email protected] MYANMAR - 30 www.myanmarmatters.com INDIA CONNECT COAL MINING - NORTH EAST- PM NARENDRA MODI TO INAUGURATE INDIA’S Profiled & published by Globally Managed 31 Services - www.gms.net.in INFRASTRUCTURE LONGEST BRIDGE IN ASSAM MYANMAR - INDIA CONNECT INDIA’S NEWEST IRIS SPECIES FOUND IN Founding Chairman : Ranjit Barthakur 32 - NORTH EAST- MANIPUR Editor in Chief : Wishu Sindhu ENVIRONMENT Advisory Board Members: KINGDOM OF BHUTAN REMAINS INDIA’S BIGGEST 34 FOREIGN-AID RECIPIENT l Nicholas Claxton BHUTAN WIDENING WORKS DISCONNECT TANGSIBJI MINI 35 l Kamal Nain Pandya HYDEL l Kalpesh Popat BANGLADESH HOPES SPEEDIER 36 l Kaustuv Bhadra IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIA-AIDED PROJECTS BANGLADESH BHEL BAGS Rs. 10,000 CRORE CONTRACT FROM l Akash Chandra 37 BANGLADESH l Prabudha Barua l Varsha Wadhwani ADVERTISEMENT KAZIRANGA GUIDEBOOK 38 CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PRIVATE STUDY. CIRCULATION ONLY MYANMAR MATTERS (3) Vol 18: June 2017 Vol 12: June - July 2015 CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY’S WIN IN MYANMAR OBOR PERSPECTIVE FOREWORD CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PRIVATE STUDY. CIRCULATION ONLY MYANMAR MATTERS (4) Vol 18: June 2017 Vol 12: June - July 2015 CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY’S WIN IN MYANMAR OBOR PERSPECTIVE ObSERVER RESEARCH fOUNDATION MUMbAI Ideas and Action for a better India OBOR THE bElT & ROAD INITIATIVE PERSPECTIVE India’s perspectives on China’s Indian-Ocean Rim Association. from Bangladesh. ambitious plan for infrastructural Good afternoon Ladies and Executive Summary connectivity in Asia, Africa and Gentlemen, I am indeed grateful China’s Belt and Road Initiative Europe to Observer Research Foundation also known as One Belt One Road and Mr. Sudheendra Kulkarni for Opening remarks by Ranjit Barthakur (OBOR), is one of President Xi’s most giving me the opportunity to speak - 21st April 2017 – Regional Dynamics ambitious foreign and economic at the plenary session on Regional of Belt & Road Initiative: BCIM - policies. It aims to strengthen Dynamics of Belt & Road Initiative. Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Beijing’s economic leadership Forum for Regional Cooperation, I would also like to welcome my co- through a vast program of building CPEC - China–Pakistan Economic speakers Dr. Ren Jia from China, infrastructure throughout China’s Corridor BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Dr.Abid Q Suleri from Pakistan, Dr. neighbouring regions. Many foreign Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical Sreeradha Datta from India and my policy analysts view this initiative CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PRIVATE STUDY. CIRCULATION ONLY and Economic Cooperation, IORA - friend, Ambassador Tariq Karim largely through a geopolitical lens, MYANMAR MATTERS (5) Vol 18: June 2017 Vol 12: June - July 2015 CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY’S WIN IN MYANMAR seeing it as Beijing’s attempt to Admittedly, analysists are of the the key solutions to achieve this. gain political leverage over its view that China’s industrial policy • China is not just trying to export neighbours. There is no doubt that shall be impacted by obscuring high end goods through OBOR this is part of Beijing’s strategic economic means to geopolitical but is interested in elevating calculation. However, this analysis concerns. argues that some of the key drivers the acceptance of Chinese • This will encourage and aid in behind OBOR are largely motivated standards. the process of regional economic by China’s pressing economic integration, speed up the process • Apart from the high speed rail concerns. of building up infrastructure and sector, the Chinese Government All levels of the Chinese Government, connectivity. is also using OBOR to advance from the national economic planning Chinese standards in other • China will assert its regional agency to provincial universities, sectors such as energy and leadership through a holistic are scrambling to get involved in telecommunications. program of economic integration. OBOR. Nearly every province in • We want companies to move China has developed its own plan to • It is likely that Chinese domestic excess production capacity complement the national blueprint. components in projects will through direct foreign Major state-owned policy and be built before any overseas commercial banks have announced components for the simple investment to ASEAN countries generous funding plans to fulfil reason that Beijing can enforce which require infrastructural President Xi’s ambitious vision. its plans much more effectively support. within its own jurisdiction. Xi launched this at a time when • We need to get some model Chinese foreign policy has become • Beijing is keen on engaging with projects done and show some more assertive. This plan seems to different ways to reinvigorate early signs of success and let have geopolitical undercurrents to underperforming provinces and these countries feel the positive it than a purely economic interest. OBOR has been touted as one of benefits of our initiative. ObOR bENEfITS- TRADE AND bUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CONTENT COMPILED AND EDITED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PRIVATE STUDY. CIRCULATION ONLY MYANMAR MATTERS (6) Vol 18: June 2017 Vol 12: June - July 2015 CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY’S WIN IN MYANMAR ObOR-Route Map vis-a-vis Indian interests GEOSTRATEGY OR Three coordinating government or what he termed as Midland Ocean GEOECONOMICS? agencies- The National Development and the Asian heartland powers. In and Reform Commission, Ministry effect, he conceded that geopolitical Before the 18th Party Congress in of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of dominance required both a 2013, there were heated debates Commerce issued the first official continental as well as a maritime among Chinese policymakers and blueprint, ‘Vision and Actions on dimension. The later geopolitical scholars about the strategic direction Jointly Building Silk Road Economic theorist, Alfred Mahan, too had a of the country’s foreign policy, Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Eurasian centred global perspective, especially in its neighbourhood. Road’, just two years later in March but his emphasis was on maritime In October 2013 Beijing convened 2015. However, there has been slow power, mediating between a two- an important work conference progress in terms of implementation fold global framework, a Western on ‘peripheral diplomacy’. It was of projects outside China. and an Oriental system. reportedly the first major foreign policy meeting since 2006 and the The well-known geopolitical theorist, Both the Road and the Belt include first-ever meeting on policy towards Halford Mackinder, postulated regional loops and branches which neighbouring countries since the drainage and impenetrable by sea- extend the reach of the emerging founding of the People’s Republic. power was destined to be the “Pivot transportation networks but also It was attended by most of the Area” of world politics. It was his serve to tie the Road to the Belt important players in the Chinese view that the rule over the heart at critical points. Thus the China- foreign policymaking process, of the world’s greatest landmass Pakistan Economic Corridor is would become the basis for world including the entire Standing significant precisely because the domination, owing to the superiority Committee of the politburo. port of Gwadar is one of the points of rail over ships in terms of time where the Road and the Belt OBOR and its relationship with and reach. Russia and China, if they intersect. Of interest to India is the BCIM - Bangladesh–China–India– came together, he predicted, could branch constituted by the BCIM Myanmar Forum for Regional outflank the maritime world. Of corridor, which proposes to connect Cooperation, CPEC - China– course, the course of the First World Yunnan in southern China with Pakistan Economic Corridor War led him in later years to modify Myanmar, Bangladesh and eastern BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative his initial perspective. In looking India. for Multi-Sectoral Technical and at the shape