EU Appoints First Resident Ambassador to Myanmar

The EU Has announced its first resident Ambassador to Myanmar as Roland Kobia, who was previously EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan for four years.
Kobia, who has also spent time working for the EU in Kenya and Congo, presented his letters of credence to President Thein Sein on September 24 and has been in the country for six weeks, replacing previous Head of Office, Andreas List.
Speaking at a meeting with the press on October 30 at the European Union headquarters in Yangon, Kobia said that the EU had a positive agenda in Myanmar and that their aim is to help the country’s continued transition towards a genuine democracy.
He revealed some of the key issues that the EU will be working on as part of their bilateral relations in Myanmar, which includes support of the transition to reform, the ethnic peace process, inter communal violence with particular reference to the ongoing situation in Rakhine state, democracy and human rights, the upcoming elections in 2015, as well as poverty reduction and trade and investment.
Regarding trade and investment, Kobia said that the EU was exploring the possibility of setting up an investment agreement in Myanmar.
“Wherever you are in the world, investors don’t like uncertainty, so if businesspeople can see that their investments are protected, then they are more likely to invest,” Kobia said.
He added that the EU’s decision to permanently drop all remaining sanctions and grant the generalised system of preferences (GSP) were a commitment from the EU that they were pleased with the progress that the country is making.