Energy gestures: Russia to build new nuclear power plant in Myanmar

Russia and Myanmar plan to expand cooperation in the energy sector: the parties have decided to build a low-power nuclear power plant in this country, which will provide the country with cheap and environmentally friendly energy. This was stated by Vladimir Putin on March 4 following the results of the Russian-Myanmar talks in the Kremlin. The Russian Federation also provides the republic with energy resources: last year, more than 90% of oil entered the local market from Russia. In turn, Myanmar's Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing called Russia the most important country ensuring the balance of power in international relations. In addition, the parties signed agreements on the recognition of diplomas and agreed to open the first Orthodox church in the country.

How Myanmar's Prime minister was welcomed in Russia

On March 4, Vladimir Putin held talks with Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing, who arrived in Moscow on an official visit the day before. This is his 11th trip to Russia. The Prime Minister of Myanmar has a busy program, including a trip to Samara, where he will visit the rocket and space center. At the airport, Min Aung Hlaing was greeted by an honor guard. He was also welcomed there by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov. The latter, by the way, visited Myanmar on February 23.

On his way to the Kremlin, the Myanmar leader managed to meet with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the heads of both houses of parliament, Valentina Matvienko and Vyacheslav Volodin. He also held talks with Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who noted the important role of cooperation between the security councils of Russia and Myanmar in the development of bilateral relations. Min Aung Hlaing met with Vladimir Putin in the afternoon.

Vladimir Putin noted the good potential for the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Myanmar and invited Min Aung Hlaing to Moscow to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, noting that military personnel from the republic would march along Red Square on that day along with the calculations of the Russian Armed Forces. The Prime Minister responded with an invitation to the Russian leader to visit the republic. He also gave Vladimir Putin a memorable gift — a Buddhist book with a prediction about friendship between the two countries.

— Our countries are connected by really strong bonds of friendship, traditions of support and mutual assistance. All this was once again clearly confirmed by the detailed and constructive negotiations that took place with Mr. Min Aung Hlaing. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the declaration on the foundations of friendly relations between the two countries. But let me remind you that back in 1948, the Soviet Union was one of the first to recognize the independence of the young republic," Vladimir Putin said in a final statement to the media.

Last year, the trade turnover increased by 40%, and the potential for its development is very good, the president noted. Among the areas of cooperation are education, tourism, agriculture, energy, and financial settlements, Ekaterina Koldunova, director of the ASEAN Center and an expert at the Valdai Club, told Izvestia. The field of IT solutions for information security, economic and socio-humanitarian projects is considered a promising area.

"The parties are also interested in creating favorable conditions for mutual travel of citizens for business and educational purposes, and in further easing the visa regime," Ekaterina Koldunova noted.

The Prime Minister of Myanmar promised to open two more consulates in Russia — in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. In total, following the talks, representatives of Russia and Myanmar signed 10 different documents. Among them is an agreement on the recognition of diplomas and academic degrees, as well as a memorandum on the basic principles of the construction of low—power nuclear power plants in Myanmar. Energy is considered a strategic area of bilateral cooperation, the president said.

The Russian Federation reliably provides the republic with in-demand energy resources: last year, more than 90% of oil entered the Myanmar market from Russia. The decision to build a low-power nuclear power plant in Myanmar will provide it with cheap and environmentally friendly energy, Vladimir Putin noted. The Myanmar side is already interested in the Russian RITM-200 reactor, the project was signed "decades before," Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev told reporters.

A memorandum of cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety was also signed. Another agreement concerned the extraction of resources in the republic. In addition, the parties agreed on cooperation in the customs sphere, signed memoranda of understanding on sports, healthcare and space.

Russia and Myanmar are dynamically developing cultural and humanitarian partnership, the leaders of the countries noted. The opening of the first Orthodox church in this Asian republic and a Russian cultural center are on the agenda. Moreover, Russia and Myanmar have agreed to expand Russian language education in the Asian republic and open a joint school there.

"The leaders positively assessed the high dynamics of the political dialogue between the two countries. We agreed to promote regular contacts at various levels, including between ministries, departments and political parties," the leaders of the two countries said in a joint statement following the talks.

What is Myanmar's position in the international arena

Russia and Myanmar view many international issues in a similar way, and the countries' positions "practically coincide or are very close," Vladimir Putin said.

Myanmar is a Southeast Asian country that directly supported Russia after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine and opposed anti—Russian sanctions. The parties are "actively cooperating in the field of security in a partnership manner," the Russian president stressed. During the talks, Min Aung Hlaing noted Russia's leadership in the field of military technology. Russia is one of the largest importers of weapons to Myanmar, recalled Kirill Kotkov, an orientalist and head of the Center for the Study of the Far East at MAIS SPb. According to experts, the parties could have touched upon the republic's position in the international arena in the context of the civil war taking place inside the country in the closed part of the negotiations.

— Given the drastic restriction of Myanmar's international contacts after the military began to control government structures in this country again in 2021, Myanmar considers Russia as a kind of "third force" that allows it not to become unilaterally dependent on stronger partners, in particular China, Ekaterina added Koldunov.

In February 2021, a military coup took place in Myanmar, the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested, and the military led by Min Aung Hlaing came to power. In fact, the United States immediately imposed sanctions against the coup participants. They were later joined by the EU, the UK, Canada and Australia. This includes, in particular, an arms embargo, a ban on transactions with certain individuals, and asset freezes. Russia does not support Western countries' restrictions on Myanmar and adheres to the position that political differences in the republic remain its internal affair, given the complex history of interaction between the central government and various ethnic groups and their armed formations.

— Russia is the most important country for ensuring balance at the global level. Therefore, Myanmar, for its part, fully supports Russia. Myanmar highly appreciates the mutual respect and mutual trust established in relations with Russia, which has become a reliable and trusted partner for the republic," said Min Aung Hlaing following the talks.

The Government of Myanmar does not control all areas of the country, and the struggle against armed supporters of the overthrown government in the republic continues. Today, the situation in Myanmar remains tense, and it is difficult to assess the degree of control of the central government, Ekaterina Koldunova believes.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights classifies what is happening as a civil war. To stabilize the situation in Myanmar, preparations are underway for the elections scheduled for November 2025. To do this, in October, the government conducted a population census in the country: the number of inhabitants amounted to 51.3 million people. These will be the first elections for the military to come to power.

— There are 66-68 military groups in the country, according to their number, Myanmar can give odds to any African country. The peculiarity is that all these groups are recognized by the central government. Representatives of these groups are people who are dressed in military uniforms: each tribe has its own group. And its own area, beyond which the grouping does not go. In this sense, the war has a stalemate character. The Myanmar military government controls more or less upper Burma - the central part of the country — and the southern part, but it does not control the mountainous regions," Kirill Kotkov said.

After the return of Donald Trump to the White House, it is unlikely that anything will change dramatically for Myanmar. Ekaterina Koldunova believes that relations between Myanmar and the collective West remain difficult, and there are no signs of improvement yet. According to Kirill Kotkov, Myanmar is not so important for the United States today, despite the presence of large deposits of rare earth metals.

"If the United States funded Myanmar, it was on a residual basis. Because Myanmar was of interest to the United States mainly as a way to hit China in its soft underbelly," Kirill Kotkov concluded.