China grants US$148 million for development projects

02 May 2019
China grants US$148 million for development projects
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (C) during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, 24 April 2019. Photo: EPA

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi returned this week from a visit to China with a grant of 1 billion yuan (US$148 million) for development projects, while her spokesman said a controversial Chinese dam project on the Irrawaddy River was not on the agenda, RFA reported.

The grant, which was agreed when she attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation last week in Beijing, would be used for projects to improve people’s livelihoods, studies for major projects and humanitarian assistance for people displaced by civil war in northern Myanmar, Myanmar's Foreign Ministry said.

The two countries signed an Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation; a Memorandum of Understanding on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) Cooperation Plan; and a MoU on a Five-year Development Program for Economic and Trade Cooperation, the ministry said.