Nay Pyi Tae- August3

The government announced today, August 3, that Mr. Arnaude de Baqque, the Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar, visited and met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi this morning.

YANGON, July 28, 2026 — Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing stated that Myanmar consistently welcomes investments from Japanese entrepreneurs and will provide all possible support to facilitate their businesses.

The President made the remarks during his keynote address at the Myanmar-Japan Business Forum held at the Myanmar Convention Centre (MCC) in Yangon.

He extended a warm invitation to Japanese investors, encouraging them to confidently participate and invest in Myanmar’s long-term sustainable development.

The President further assured the Japanese delegation that the Myanmar government is continuously striving to create a clearer, more robust, and transparent business environment. Efforts are also underway to streamline procedures and implement supportive policy frameworks.

The Myanmar-Japan Business Forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, the Myanmar-Japan Social and Economic Development Cooperation Association, and Japan’s Ingo Peace. According to Dr. Daw Khine Khine Soe, spokesperson for the President's Office, the forum was attended by 94 Japanese business executives and over 300 Myanmar entrepreneurs.

Mr. Nakazawa Hiroyuki, Chairman of Ingo Peace, expressed his delight as a Japanese citizen for the opportunity to discuss future bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Myanmar-Japan partnership.

Bilateral trade between Myanmar and Japan reached $1,334.795 million in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, $1,194.394 million in 2024–2025, and $1,343.665 million in 2025–2026. Myanmar's primary exports to Japan include garments, footwear, pulses, pearls, and electrical products.

Furthermore, Japan plays a leading role in the successful Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, accounting for 29.92% of the total investment with over 50 Japanese companies operating in the zone.

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June 30, 2026 — The Myanmar government has officially formed a special scrutiny committee tasked with reviewing the reinstatement of citizenship for former Myanmar nationals currently residing abroad. These former nationals include refugees and blacklisted individuals.

The establishment of the committee was authorized by the Office of the President through Notification No. 60/2026, issued on May 4, 2026, and was officially signed and mandated by the President.

The newly formed scrutiny committee is chaired by the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Immigration and Population acting as Secretary. The panel also includes Union Ministers from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Legal Affairs, Education, Health, and Immigration and Population as active members.

According to the official mandate, the committee is responsible for scrutinizing applications from former nationals residing overseas in strict accordance with the Myanmar Citizenship Law. A key duty of the committee is to evaluate and determine, on a case-by-case basis, the suitability of endorsing citizenship reinstatement applications from these former nationals, which explicitly include refugees and those previously placed on the state's blacklist.

For applicants unable to present concrete proof of their former citizenship, the committee will base its recommendations on verification data provided by the Ministry of Immigration and Population. Furthermore, the committee will assess the applicants' living conditions abroad and verify their criminal records. This process will incorporate formal remarks and assessments obtained from the respective Myanmar Embassies and Consulates-General.

Once the committee resolves to endorse a former citizen for reinstatement, the recommendation will be formally submitted to the Union Government Cabinet. If the Cabinet officially approves the reinstatement during its assembly, the Ministry of Immigration and Population will be instructed to carry out the subsequent administrative procedures in accordance with existing laws and regulations.

By Devendra Sharma

As the planting season grips much of Asia, a quiet crisis is unfolding across the continent’s rice paddies. What began as a geopolitical flashpoint thousands of miles away has rapidly deteriorated into a severe regional fuel and fertilizer crisis, threatening to plunge an additional 9.1 million people into acute food insecurity. For major agricultural nations and vulnerable economies like Myanmar alike, the current breakdown of global supply chains demands more than just temporary mitigation—it requires a fundamental reassessment of trade dependencies and strategic partnerships.

The Shipping Shockwave: Rising FIS and Fertilizer Shortages

The primary catalyst for this impending agricultural disaster is the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing Iran war. This vital maritime artery, through which roughly a third of the world's fertilizer supply passes, has been effectively choked off by hostilities. The consequences have shocked global supply chains, drastically raising freight insurance and shipping charges (FIS). 

This FIS surge impacts far more than just crude oil shipments ; it has heavily inflated the transport costs of essential components and raw inputs required for fertilizer production. Production facilities in Persian Gulf states like Qatar and Saudi Arabia—which account for 30% to 35% of global urea exports—have suffered direct damage, while critical ingredients like sulfur are facing acute shortages. 

The Fertilizer Cost Crunch (2026 Data)

    * Urea Benchmark Price: Reached a staggering $857 per metric ton, more than doubling its year-earlier level.

    * Annual Projection: The World Bank forecasts overall fertilizer prices to rise 31% over the year, with urea driven up by roughly 60%.

    * Production Costs: Skyrocketing prices of transportation and agricultural supplies are raising total farming production costs by 50% to 80%. 

For Asian farmers in India, Vietnam, and Thailand who transplant seedlings between May and August, these inflated costs are completely untenable. Rice growing is uniquely fertilizer-intensive, relying heavily on nitrogen-based options derived from Middle Eastern natural gas. In emerging markets where costs are especially hard to pass on in food prices, the standard response is to simply reduce fertilizer use. This inevitable reduction will severely depress crop yields, drastically escalating the risk of a widespread regional food crisis.

Choked Trade and Throttled Incomes

The disruption is a two-way street that penalizes both ends of the supply chain. While Asian nations struggle to import agricultural inputs, the reverse flow of food supplies from Asian countries to the Gulf Region has become equally complicated. 

As maritime shipping routes become perilous and prohibitively expensive due to elevated FIS premiums, the friction in transport logistics drives up destination food prices while simultaneously throttling the export incomes of Asian countries. Regional heavyweights are already buckling under the strain: 

    Vietnam: The world's second-largest rice exporter is actively cutting production as surging energy costs compress profit margins. 

    Thailand & Bangladesh: Facing similar severe margin pressures, limiting their ability to step in as alternative global suppliers. 

    India: As the world's largest rice grower, India remains highly vulnerable because 40% of its imported fertilizer relies directly on the disrupted Gulf states. 

Myanmar’s Imperative: Navigating Geopolitical Realities

In this fractured economic landscape, nations can no longer rely on the illusion of seamless, globalized trade. The current crisis underscores how vulnerable regional food security remains to Western-aligned geopolitical strategies and the fallout of aggressive US foreign policy actions in the Middle East. 

For Myanmar, a country whose domestic stability is tightly bound to its agricultural fortunes, continuing with business-as-usual is a recipe for disaster. To fortify its path toward true food security, Myanmar must proactively shift its strategic focus.

    Strategic Recommendations for Myanmar:

    * Pivot Toward Resilient Blocs: Cultivate robust bilateral and multilateral partnerships with countries and regional blocs that are actively prepared to resist aggressive US foreign policy.

    * Build Alternative Corridors: Establish direct state-to-state fertilizer, input component, and fuel agreements outside of vulnerable Middle Eastern transit choke points.

    * Diversify Import Networks: Follow the lead of neighbors like India, which is actively looking to alternative fertilizer exporters in Malaysia and Indonesia to bypass the war zone. 

The Way Forward

The geopolitical crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has laid bare the extreme fragility of Asia’s food systems. When a bottleneck in the Persian Gulf can dictate the price of rice seedlings in Southeast Asia, absolute self-reliance is a myth, but strategic autonomy is a necessity. For Myanmar and its neighbors, navigating this shock is no longer just about weathering a temporary spike in fertilizer prices ; it is about rewriting the rules of regional trade to ensure that the fields feeding the continent never run dry.

References

    Nikkei Asia: Rice farmers in India, Vietnam and Thailand brace for fertilizer shock (https://asia.nikkei.com/business/agriculture/rice-farmers-in-india-vietnam-and-thailand-brace-for-fertilizer-shock)

    The Globe and Mail: Fertilizer shortages sow trouble for Asia as food prices explode (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-fertilizer-shortages-asia-food-prices-explainer/)

21 June 2026

Myanmar is looking forward to deeper and all-round cooperation with China, the country's President U Min Aung Hlaing said in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during his state visit to China.

Source CCTV+

20 June,2026

Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday called on all countries in the world to work closely together to combat online gambling and telecom fraud, and described cybercrime as a growing threat to the people worldwide.

Source CCTV+