Myanmar, Indonesia ink visa exemption deal

Myanmar and Indonesia on May 10 inked an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders.
Myanmar and Indonesia on May 10 inked an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders.

The deal was signed by Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwinand his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natelegawa on the sidelines of theASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar .

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Marty Natelegawa said theagreement is important to improve relations between the people of bothcountries, partly increasing connectivity among ASEAN countries, whileboosting tourism between the two countries and within the region.

He said the relations between Indonesia and Myanmar is reallygood, in terms of a historical perspective, both countries haveexperienced a process of a democratic transition.

Besides tourism, Indonesia and Myanmar also expect to enhance their trade and investment cooperation, he added.

According to the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty, the agreement isexpected to help reach a bilateral trade of 1 billion USD by 2016.

The agreement marks a further step toward ASEAN Common Visa by 2015,as stipulated in the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Visa Exemption signedin Kuala Lumpur on July 26, 2006.-VNA

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