Myanmar president promotes reformers in cabinet reshuffle
Myanmar's president reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, a move viewed as a step forward in the country's fragile political and economic reform agenda.
President Thein Sein's cabinet shake-up affected nine ministers, with two of his key reformers promoted to the president's office.
Industry Minister Soe Thane, who also heads the Myanmar Investment Commission, and railways minister Aung Min, who has been handling ceasefire negotiations with Myanmar's ethnic minority rebels, were moved to the presidential office.
Kyaw Hsan, the former minister of information and culture, was shifted to minister for cooperatives, which is seen as a demotion. He has been described as having close ties to the former junta that ruled Myanmar from 1988 until the general election in November 2010.
Isolated from the world for a half-century, a nominally civilian government led by Sein has promoted democratic reforms, which led to the suspensions of sanctions by the US and European Union earlier this year.
