EU to begin Myanmar political dialogue
The European Union will begin "sustained political dialogue" with Myanmar following the thawing of relations between the junta-led nation and the US, the regional bloc's ambassador said Thursday.
Ambassador David Lipman spoke to reporters in Myanmar's main city Yangon after meeting with the country's leader Senior General Than Shwe to obtain diplomatic credentials in the remote capital Naypyidaw a day earlier.
"We had a good discussion about future relations between the European Union and Myanmar and we are looking forward," Lipman said of the 30-minute meeting.
"I think the government would like to engage with the European Union. They are already engaging with the United States," he said.
Last month US President Barack Obama signalled a new approach with Myanmar when he met Prime Minister Thein Sein along with other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore.
The US and EU have sanctions against Myanmar because of its human rights record and detention of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Lipman said future engagement would follow three tracks -- general humanitarian assistance, the giving of financial aid through non-government organisations, and now political discussion.
Meanwhile, Myanmar's Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear an appeal against the extended house arrest of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, as the European Union said it wanted sustained dialogue with the ruling junta.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, 64, was ordered to spend another 18 months in detention in August after being convicted over an incident in which a US man swam to her house. A lower court rejected an initial appeal in October.
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