President of Myanmar visits Busan New Port

Thein Sein, the President of Republic of the Union of Myanmar, planned to visit Busan New Port in South Korea on October 10.

An official says the President was scheduled the second Wednesday in October to stop in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding at Busan New Port. The President visited Busan Port Authorities (BPA) with a party of 40, including ministers.

Lim Ki-Tack, CEO of BPA, spoke with Mr. Thein about the present condition of Busan Port and background transportation facilities, development projects etc. Afterwards, the president browsed Busan New Port Container terminal (BNCT) and Hanjin New Port while hearing about operation, management, and automated systems.

Burma, between China and Thailand, is the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.

Myanmar is a natural resources-rich nation with natural gas, minerals, and gems. Especially, the country produces precious stones such as sapphires, pearls, and jade. Rubies are the biggest earner; 90% of the world's rubies come from the country called the "Valley of Rubies".

However the Burmese economy is one of the least developed in the world. For this reason, the nation is carrying forward a business plan to construct large scale infrastructure, such as a new airport, water supply and harbor.

Last year the container traffic between Busan port and Yangon port, which is the main port of Myanmar, recorded 12,800 TEU, and is growing year by year.

Meanwhile, the President Thein Sein and the President Lee Myeong Bak held a Korea-Myanmar summit meeting on October 9. < 김보람 기자 brkim@ksg.co.kr >