Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Over 13 million worshipers pray at Rawdah Sharif in a year    Pope Francis laid to rest at historic funeral in Rome    Massive explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port injures over 500 people    Russia claims full control of Kursk region after ousting Ukrainian forces    Former US congressman George Santos sentenced to over 7 years for fraud and identity theft    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



US eases Myanmar trade curbs, names envoy
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 19 - 05 - 2012

President Barack Obama declared a new chapter in US relations with Myanmar, easing an investment ban and naming the first US ambassador to the former pariah state in 22 years to reward it for democratic reforms.
Both Republican and Democrat senators Thursday welcomed the administration's move, but human rights activists said it was premature to reward a government that remains dominated by its military and still holds hundreds of political prisoners.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's election to parliament last month has prompted Western governments to roll back years of hard-hitting restrictions against the Asian nation also known as Burma, which is emerging from decades of authoritarian rule and diplomatic isolation.
After meeting Myanmar's foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the US was suspending sanctions on export of American financial services and investment across all sectors of the Myanmar economy — including in the resource-rich country's lucrative oil, gas and mining sectors. She described it as the most significant action Washington has taken so far to reward Myanmar for its reforms.
“Today we say to American businesses, Invest in Burma and do it responsibly,” she told a joint news conference after talks with the foreign minister at the State Department. She said US companies would be expected to conduct due diligence to avoid any problems, including human rights abuses.
Despite the easing of restrictions, US companies would still be barred from doing business with firms associated with the country's powerful military.
The White House also announced it was keeping its framework of hard-hitting sanctions in place for now, saying Myanmar's democratic reforms are still “nascent.”
Clinton described that as an “insurance policy.”
“The United States remains concerned about Burma's closed political system, its treatment of minorities and detention of political prisoners, and its relationship with North Korea,” Obama said in a statement.
Voicing similar reservations, but crediting Myanmar's reforms, influential lawmakers supported the administration's announcements, underscoring that policy toward Myanmar is one in which the two parties can see eye to eye.
Republican Sen. John McCain and Mitch McConnell said in a statement that the measures struck “an appropriate balance” between encouraging reform and maintaining leverage to press Myanmar to make more progress. Democratic Sen. John Kerry called it a “logical step forward.”
Fellow Democratic Sen. Jim Webb urged the administration to go further and lift economic sanctions entirely. The US retains sanctions on trade and against lending to Myanmar by institutions like the World Bank.
One dissenting voice was Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Republican chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who said “serious questions remain about Burma's journey toward democracy.”
The senators welcomed the nomination of Derek Mitchell, the current special envoy to Myanmar who will become the first US ambassador to be based in the country since 1990. Clinton urged his quick confirmation by the Senate. The US is currently represented by a lower-level diplomat.
Myanmar will also send a full ambassador to Washington, a post to be taken by its current permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, Than Swe.
Suu Kyi, who spent 15 of the previous 22 years under house arrest before her release in late 2010, this week gave cautious backing to the suspension of economic sanctions but warned against undue optimism about Myanmar and said the reforms toward democracy — after five decades of military dominance — were still reversible.
A spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, Nyan Win, said Thursday: “We welcome the US decision to relax sanctions and the naming of a new US ambassador, particularly Mr. Derek Mitchell.”
Human rights groups and exiled Myanmar activists were strongly critical of easing economic controls.


Clic here to read the story from its source.