UAE and Myanmar to establish diplomatic ties

The UAE and Myanmar have agreed to establish diplomatic relations, the official Emirati news agency Wam reported yesterday.

Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN, signed a communique to establish the ties with her counterpart from Myanmar, Kyaw Moe Tun, in New York.

“They discussed the situation of the Rohingya and the need for opening channels of communication on an issue that is a matter of priority for the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation,” the agency said. The UAE chairs the OIC.

Ms Nusseibeh said the UAE was keen to work with Myanmar “to unlock future partnerships in serving the aspirations of the region’s countries and peoples”.

Ambassador Tun thanked the UAE for the five metric tonnes of medical aid that it sent to Myanmar to aid the fight against Covid-19. He also thanked the UAE for its assistance and co-operation during his nation’s general election process, including ensuring residents from Myanmar were able to cast their ballots.

Myanmar’s ruling party said it achieved a resounding victory on Monday in the second parliamentary election since the end of strict mili

Officials agreed to open channels to discuss the issue of the Rohingya minority

tary rule, based on its own unofficial tally of votes.

Sunday’s election was viewed as a referendum on the democratic government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, whose reputation overseas was undermined by accusations that treatment of the Rohingya was a genocide.

Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory in the 2015 election. But, the army-drafted 2008 constitution automatically grants the military enough seats in Parliament to block constitutional change.

More than 90 parties contested the election and 37 million people were eligible to cast ballots, including five million first-time voters.

The results took some time to come in. Saw Zin Maung Soe, founder of CAN-Myanmar, a local election observation group, blamed the slow release of the official results on flaws in the Union Election Commission.

“The information flow in the electoral body is weak and there was not enough training for the members of the commission across the country,” he said.

The UAE recently normalised relations with Israel, signing the Abraham Accords at a White House event on September 15.

Israel said it would suspend annexation of Palestinian territory as part of the peace agreement.