Daily News- February 23 - 2003- Sunday
  • Bombay doctors train Burmese pharmacologists
  • Vietnam's Senior military delegation concludes Myanmar visit
  • Gen.Than Shwe cancels Malaysia trip over bank fears


    • Bombay doctors train Burmese pharmacologists

    Source : The Times of India

    MUMBAI - Burma's first therapeutic and drug-monitoring (TDM) unit will be set up in Rangoon, the capital city, by two clinical pharmacologists who underwent a 12-week training course at the KEM Hospital here.

    The setting up of the TDM unit is part of the Burmese government's programme to boost healthcare and education.

    Speaking to presspersons, Dr Thaw Zin and Dr Khine Khine Lwin, senior research scientists at the government department of medical research in Burma, who underwent the training, said it was the first time that clinical pharmacologists had been sent to India to train in new principles and techniques of clinical pharmacology under the World Health Organisation-sponsored programme.

    To begin with, WHO will provide training and special reagents while the Burmese government will provide the premises and major equipment for the TDM unit.

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    Vietnam's Senior military delegation concludes Myanmar visit

    Source : Vietnam News Agency (VNA)

    A Vietnamese senior military delegation headed by Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Pham Van Tra concluded its five-day official friendship visit to Myanmar on February 21.

    They were guests of Lieutenant General Min Thein, minister in charge of the Office of the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Myanmar.

    During the visit, Senior Lieutenant General Tra paid a courtesy visit to Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the SPDC, Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar armed forces and Defence Minister.

    Senior General Than Shwe recalled the solidarity and friendship between the Myanmar and Vietnamese people and spoke highly of the Vietnamese people's heroic struggle against foreign aggression in the past and socio-economic achievements at present.

    For his part, Senior Lieutenant General Tra expressed his belief that the friendship and mutual understanding between the two armies would continue to develop, thus contributing to boosting the two countries' relations for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

    While there, the Vietnamese delegation visited the National Defence and Command Institutes, the Information Technology and Telecom Park and Drug Control Museum.

    Myanmar was the last destination of the Vietnamese military delegation's tour after Laos and Thailand.

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    Gen.Than Shwe cancels Malaysia trip over bank fears

    Source : MSNBC / Reuters

    Rangoon, Feb. 23 — Burma's military government leader Than Shwe called off a visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to attend a summit of non-aligned nations, in a move that diplomats said showed rising jitteriness over runs on bank deposits.

    Deposit runs started early this month at all 20 privately owned banks amid mounting concern after the collapse over the past few months of 16 deposit-taking firms. The government has blamed the runs on ''destructive elements'' spreading rumours.

    A Burmese foreign ministry official told Reuters Foreign Minister Win Aung, who is already attending the three-yearly summit of leaders of the 114 member Non-Aligned Movement, would represent Than Shwe at the summit.

    Diplomats said Than Shwe's cancellation was officially made in the Malaysian capital on Saturday citing ''health conditions,'' but they believed concern over the country's financial crisis could be the real cause.

    ''It can't be because of his health,'' one Asian diplomat told Reuters. ''He even went on an inspection tour in Ayeyawady division on Saturday. The state-owned television covered his tour He looked all right.''

    Another diplomat added: ''The authorities seem to be concerned about the consequences of the unstable condition in private banking industry.''

    Khin Nyunt, the government's Secretary One, was quoted in state-run newspapers on Saturday as telling the public not to panic about deposits at any private bank, because the government had already provided some support.

    Anticipating persistent panic, the government also called off a five-day fishery and livestock fair originally starting Monday, diplomats said.

    Burma's banking system had a combined deposit of 485.4 billion kyat, of which 323.4 billion kyats belonged to 20 private banks as of June 2002, official data show.

    Banking sources said Burma's central bank transferred billions of kyats into major private banks a few days ago.

    The official exchange rate is six kyat to the U.S. dollar. On the black market it is about 1,000 kyat to the dollar.

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