HOUSE OF THE WEEK
An abundance of space at FMI City
CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...moreMedia Roundup
Visa exemption for SL pilgrimage tours
THE governments of Myanmar and Sri Lanka will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering visa exemptions for pilgrimage tours between the countries, a spokesperson from the Sri Lankan embassy in Yangon told Weekly Eleven.
The two governments have already agreed to introduce the visa exemp-tion but the MOU has not been sign-ed yet, the December 23 report said. The spokesperson added it would be signed “in the not too distant future”.
On the recommendation of the respective government ministries, embassies in Sri Lanka and Myanmar are currently issuing visas for religious trips free of charge.
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks play a major role in developing Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region.
Friendship between Myanmar and Sri Lanka has existed since “time immemorial” as they are both Therav-ada Buddhist nations, the report said.
Fishery exports set to miss FY target
FISHERIES exports are unlikely to meet the US$700 million target set for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) said at a press conference, Weekly Eleven reported on December 23.
After the first eight months of the fiscal year exports stand at less than half of the targeted figure, with just $317 million exported so far, a federation spokesperson said.
The figure is just 45 percent of the targeted amount, the spokesperson said, adding that it was unlikely Myanmar would export $383 million of fisheries products in the next four months.
A more reasonable target is to eclipse the previous financial year total. In 2008-2009, $483 million of fisheries products were exported – well shy of the ambitious $850 million target set by the government.
In Myanmar the fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31.
