Myanmar union official vows to carry out border development tasks
14:55, April 24, 2011
Myanmar Union Minister at the President's Office U Thein Nyunt has vowed to further carry out border areas and national races development tasks in the new government tenure, actively cooperating with local ethnic leaders and people, state media reported Sunday.
U Thein Nyunt, who is also Secretary of the Central Committee for Progress of Border Areas and National Races, underlined the achievements made in the sector during the tenure of the previous government until the new government took office on March 30, said the New Light of Myanmar.
According to U Thein Nyunt, a state fund of over 212 billion Kyats (about 235 million U.S. dollars) were used in building a total of over 13,000-kilometer various roads, 1,748 big and small bridges as well as maintenance of 5,744 kilometers of roads in the border areas.
In human resources development in the areas, the country has opened 888 primary schools, 92 middle schools and 94 high schools, building up also 892 schools and upgrading 953 schools with the cooperation of United Nations agencies and international organizations under border areas development projects, he said.
For poor youths with less opportunity to pursue education, he went on to say, 29 border area national races youths development training schools were opened and two union national races youths development degree colleges in Yangon and Mandalay were opened in 2000, bringing out 1,513 young ethnic graduates and serving in their native regions.
In the academic year 2010-11, 1,073 students were able to pursue higher education in degree colleges, he disclosed, adding that 39 women's vocational training schools were also opened in border areas.
He also cited some achievements made in other sectors such as health, agriculture, livestock breeding, energy, communication, public relations and forestry, saying that a total of 397 billion Kyats (about 441 million U.S. dollars) were also spent in building up sound socio-economic foundations in the border areas.
The union minister underlined cooperation with international organizations in drug elimination and regional development, citing World Food Program (WFP)'s supply of hundreds of tons of rice, United Nations High Commissionar of Refugees (UNHCR)'s assistance in thousands of sectoral projects, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)'s technological cooperation in drug eradication and China's donation of thousands of tons of rice to farmers who quit poppy growing.
Source: Xinhua
