A ceremony marking the 70th Anniversary of the initiation of the Five Principles of Peace­ful Coexistence, jointly organ­ised by the China Foundation for Peace and Development (CFPD) and the Myanmar-Chi­na Cooperation and Communi­cation Centre (MCCCC), took place yesterday at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Yangon.

 

Mrs Qiao Li, Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Myan­mar, highlighted, “China-My­anmar diplomatic relations began in June 1950, and 2024 marks the 70th Anniversary of the announcement of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexist­ence. Seventy years ago, Pre­mier Zhou Enlai formulated these principles: mutual re­spect for sovereignty and terri­torial integrity, mutual non-ag­gression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence”.

 

The leaders of both coun­tries signed the Five Princi­ples on 29 June 1954 in Yangon. “In April 1955, these principles were endorsed at the Asia-Af­rica Summit (Bandung Con­ference) in Indonesia. Many nations embraced them and subsequently became funda­mental principles followed by the United Nations,” added Daw Than Than Nu, Chairper­son of the U Nu-Daw Mya Yee Foundation.

 

“In 1954, during a meeting in Beijing between Chairman Mao and my father, former Prime Minister U Nu, Chair­man Mao expressed that China had initiated numerous pro­jects and pledged future assis­tance to Myanmar,” Daw Than Than Nu continued. “Seventy years later, China has provided significant support to Myan­mar, particularly through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), which involves collab­oration in politics, culture, social development, and eco­nomic sectors, promoting peo­ple-to-people communication”.

 

CITIC Myanmar Depu­ty General Manager Mr Ma Chuanfu discussed progress and future plans for the Kyauk­pyu Project, affirming, “CITIC Myanmar remains committed to advancing the Kyaukpyu Project and enhancing Cor­porate Social Responsibility.”

 

Additional speakers at the event included Chairman U Nay Oke of the Nay Oke Foun­dation and CFPD Executive Officer, Joint Secretary U Khin Maung Zaw of the Myanmar Institute for Strategic and International Studies, Chief Editor U Win Tin of the North­ern Light Journal and Dr Kyi Shwin, Rector of Yangon Uni­versity of Foreign Languages. — TWA/TMT