Burmese PM to attend climate change conference, meet EU members

by Mungpi
Friday, 04 December 2009 22:12

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A Burmese delegation led by Prime Minister Thein Sein will travel to Denmark to attend the COP 15 or United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen from December 7 to 18.

An official of the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Denmark told Mizzima on Friday that Prime Minister Thein Sein would be heading the Burmese delegation to the conference.

Kyaw Tint Swe, Secretary of the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) and Kyi Tun, Joint Secretary of the NCEA, are Burma’s focal point for the UNFCCC.

Meanwhile, European Voice Online, on Friday quoting a Swedish official said some European Union member states are planning to meet Thein Sein, on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference.

“There is an ongoing debate on whether and which EU leaders should meet the Burmese Prime Minister,” the Swedish official was quoted as saying.

Sweden is the current rotating President of the European Union, which has imposed sanctions against the Burmese regime for its human rights violations in the country.

“The EU is considering a more direct engagement with the Burmese authorities,” the report quoted an EU official as saying. “Many member states are looking for new measures as a complement to the sanctions currently in force.”

Some observers say that the EU move follows a new engagement policy by the United States towards Burma. The new policy allowed the US to directly engage the Burmese military generals while maintaining existing sanctions.

According to European Voice Online, EU Foreign Ministers are scheduled to discuss Burma during a meeting on December 8, in Brussels.