17 July

ASEAN-China Transport Ministers’ Special Meeting on COVID-19 was held through video conferencing yesterday. 

The meeting was attended by the transport ministers from China and 10 ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN General Secretary and officials from the member countries, Union Minister for Transport and Communications U Thant Sin Maung, the Permanent Secretary, and officials from Department of Civil Aviation, Department of Marine Administration, Road Transport Administration Department and Myanma Railways.

Union Minister U Thant Sin Maung discussed the COVID-19 situation in Myanmar and leading role of the National-Level Central Committee for Prevention, Control and Treatment of COVID-19, the compliance with the prevention of the disease in aviation, marine and road transportations, suspension of regular flights, and arrangement of the chartered flights and relief flights and the implementation of the COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) to ease the economic impact. 

Moreover, the Union Minister said that cross-border transport played a vital role during the crisis to transport medicines, commodities, and all our nations needed to make agreement between the nations in order to implement effective border transport. 

He also explained the change of cargo trailers in the cross-border transport, installation of sufficient equipment at the border checkpoints, better use of ICT technology to enforce disease control guidelines. 

The ministers from the ASEAN countries and China exchanged their opinions. They also discussed possible assistance in the crew-change of the Myanmar seamen working on the foreign ships. 

The meeting released the ‘Joint Statement of ASEAN-China Transport Ministers on Ensuring Smooth Transport and Logistics to Combat COVID-19 and Reactivate the Economy’ to be carried out among ASEAN member countries and China.

MNA (Translated Ei Phyu Phyu Aung)