The two countries agree to work together in the area of human resources development

President Lee Myung-bak made a historic visit to Myanmar and held talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein in the Myanmar capital of Nay Pyi Taw on May 14. 

The trip is the first state visit by a South Korean president to Myanmar since 1983, when a bombing by North Korea in Yangon killed 17 South Korean officials accompanying then-President Chun Doo-hwan, who was the target of the attack. 

The two leaders discussed ways to ramp up cooperation in the areas of the economy, trade, energy, resources, culture, and human exchanges on top of sharing Korea’s development experiences. They also exchanged views on various issues of mutual interest such as regional affairs surrounding the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia as well as Southeast Asia. 

During the summit Lee expressed his willingness to widen the scope of official development assistance, focusing on a series of plans aimed at sharing Korea’s development experiences with Myanmar. 

The two countries agreed to work together in the area of human resources development through a scholarship program and the establishment of a state economic research institute modeled after the Korea Development Institute.

Both sides also agreed to implement projects to share Korea’s development experiences, such as the rural development model of the 1970s, widely known as the Saemaul Movement.

Meanwhile, President Lee met with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on May 15 to praise the Nobel peace laureate’s fight for democracy and reform.