German president praises Myanmar
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German President Joachim Gauck on Sunday praised Myanmar for making steps towards democracy, adding that the country's progress was the reason that Germany had approved a ¤500-million (Bt22.3 billion) debt relief package for the southeast Asian count
“Burma has made bold steps towards democracy,” said Gauck during avisit to the Shwedadong Pagoda in Myanmar’s capital Yangon, which marked the first state visit by a German president to Burma since 1986.
Gauck, who was scheduled to meet with Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, had said he was looking forward to the meeting. He added that he planned to ask the opposition politician and chairwoman of the National League for Democracy if she would run for president in the 2015 election.
The German president also planned to meet President Thein Sein yesterday, and open a local chapter of the Goethe Institute in the capital.
The news comes one day after Gauck concluded his state visit to India, where he called upon Indians to emigrate to Germany due to his country’s ever-decreasing birthrate.
