FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Country expects $600m from EU for peace building

Country expects $600m from EU for peace building

The European Union (EU) has pledged 700,000 euros in the first instalment of its assistance for Myanmar's peacebuilding efforts.

 

Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, signed a joint declaration with Aung Min, union minister at the President’s Office, in this regard at Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) in Yangon on Saturday.
“We will discuss details of the assistance later. It may be US$500 million or $600 million. It is just a start,” Aung Min said.
The EU has won the Nobel Peace Prize for its peace efforts, “so it has a responsibility to help peace efforts,” the minister explained.
In 2013, it will contribute 30 million euros to peace Myanmar’s ethnic groups.
Armed ethnic groups have agreed to cooperate with the Myanmar government in providing US$3 million of Japanese aid to war-ravaged communities.
The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 armed ethnic groups, will soon be signing a memorandum of understanding with the government, the group’s chairperson announced at a press conference in Yangon’s Sedona Hotel on October 29. 
This is the first time for the government to engage the UNFC. Nippon Foundation , the funder, said the government has had difficulties entering areas controlled by the ethnic groups. 
Nippon Foundation plans to provide aid in the states of Kachin, Shan, Kayah, Mon, Rakhine, and Kayin. These areas are controlled by armed groups like the Kachin Independence Army and Karen National Union. 
“There are about 1 million IDPs (internally displaced people) due to conflicts in ethnic areas. Starting from the end of this year, we will try our best to provide emergency food and medical supplies,” Nippon Foundation chairperson Yohei Sasakawa said. 
He said trust is the most important issue in building peace between the government and the ethnic groups, and that the foundation would like to help restore it. Nippon Foundation has been providing assistance to Myanmar since 1976. 
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