Welcoming Speech by H.E. U Linn Myaing, Ambassador of the Union of Myanmar, at the Reception Hosted for Members of the Congressional Legislative Staff Association

Washington DC, December 10, 2002

Members of the Congressional Legislative Staff Association, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me and my wife, together with the members of my staff and their spouses, to welcome you here this evening.

The CLSA, through Mr. Josh Brown, first indicated interest in meeting the staff members of the Embassy 8 months ago In order to have an exchange of views on matters of mutual interest and to further open the doors of communication. Although we were more than willing to arrange a meeting earlier, prior commitments at the Embassy prevented us from doing so. So we are very happy that the meeting has finally materialized, and to use a cliché, better late than never.

As Congressional staff members, I'm sure you are aware of the state of relations between our two countries, which unfortunately is not yet normal. Most of the issues which contributed to this state of affairs stem from misunderstanding of what is going on in our country. Therefore, we are highly appreciative of the initiative taken by the CLSA to bring congressional staff members and our Embassy staff together and provide us with the opportunity to get to know each other. We believe that interaction and dialogue playa major part in clearing up misunderstandings and differences, and for further promoting friendship.

Our country is committed to a multiparty democracy with a market economy and much has been achieved in the recent past in our national reconciliation process and nation building. However, it might appear otherwise to countries that have had successful democracies over a long period of time. We need to see what it was like twenty, ten, five or even two years ago in order to appreciate the progress that has been made. We are also achieving unprecedented results in our fight against narcotic drugs, which is a scourge to all mankind. At the moment, we are cooperating with the United States and the international community in the war against terrorism. The most recent cooperation effort between Myanmar and the United States, concerning a humanitarian project to recover the remains of American Servicemen lost in the northern regions of Myanmar during the Second World War, is progressing smoothly.

We know a lot of challenges and difficulties lie ahead, and that we still need to do a lot more to reach our goal, which is to establish a peaceful and modern democratic state. However, we feel that we are on the right track, and understanding, encouragement and engagement from the United States and the world community at large will help us get there sooner rather than later.

Myanmar is often referred to as the Golden land. This not only alludes to the wealth of golden pagodas but also to the paddy fields that provide us with rice, our main staple. It is a good reference to our culture whose art is mainly based upon Buddhism, as well as to the fact that we are an agricultural nation. One need only visit the country to be surrounded by examples of our rich heritage and long history. I hope you will have some time to pause in front of the television set here and see glimpses of the country, its varied landscapes and its many attractions. Not least of the attractions are the people themselves who have been described by many foreigners as not merely always smiling, but reflecting the smile with their eyes also, genuine smiles that come from within. So in the middle of this chilly December in Washington DC, try to imagine yourselves for a moment being in a warm climate in an exotic lush setting, getting to know the friendly people of Myanmar.

Please feel free to ask me or my staff members, or indeed our spouses, any questions you might have, and I hope that you will enjoy the very limited sample of Myanmar cuisine which we have tried to provide you with. We would have tried to present some Myanmar dances so that you could have an idea of another part of our culture but unfortunately, it is exam time for the dancers in our embassy so we will have to leave that for another time, maybe in April next year, when we hope to welcome you again to join us in a celebration of the Water Festival and our Myanmar New Year.

Thank you.