On 23rd October 2012, Dr. Peter Witterauf, Chief Executive Officer of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), opened the Project Office of the HSF in Yangon, Myanmar. The HSF is the first German political foundation with a representative office in the Southeast Asian country. The opening ceremony and interviews with project partners were recorded on a video.

Intensification of cooperative ties with parliament
Myanmar is since the beginning of 2010 in a process of political, social and economic opening. In a bilateral talk with the President of the Parliament of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Thura U Shwe Mann, a close cooperation between the HSF and parliament was agreed. Providing political education, especially in the fields of social market economy and state federalism, the development of political parties and the training of the parliamentary bureaucracy will be one major focus of this cooperation. The cooperation will cross group divisions, as Dr. Witterauf told U Tin Oo, former Chairman of the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD).

Preparations for the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014
For the first time in the history of the country, Myanmar will take over the Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Due to joint cooperative efforts of the HSF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar since 1994, the Chief Executive Officer Dr. Witterauf pledged on behalf of the foundation its commitment to support crucial preparations for the ASEAN Chairmanship to U Thant Kyaw, Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar. Mr Achim Munz, Resident Representative of the HSF in Myanmar, will elaborate key issue areas of cooperation until the end of November 2012.

Support for developing sustainable economic reforms
While tourism and economic growth are crucial to promote the development and the ongoing process of democratisation in the country in a sustainable way, the great biological diversity of Myanmar must be protected as well and economic change must be carried out in a sustainable manner to be environment-friendly. Against this background, the HSF cooperates closely with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs’ Association (MWEA). During the course of the political, social and economic opening process first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies could be developed as well as curricula for the training of young female entrepreneurs for sustainable enterprise management (http://www.hss.de/southeastasia/en/myanmar/news-events/2012/women-entrepreneurs-successfully-completed-train-the-trainer-course.html). Dr. Witterauf emphasised the importance of sustainable economic activities in discussions with the Vice Chairman of the UMFCCI and the Chairwoman of the MWEA and was very much impressed by the commitment of both project partners and their knowledge on the subject.

The Minister of Hotels and Tourism: "The HSF plays a leading role in the development of sustainable tourism in Myanmar"
On the occasion of the HSF office opening in Yangon on 23rd October 2012, a booklet for responsible tourism in Myanmar was presented to the public which had been developed by the HSF. In the booklet “Dos and Dont's for Tourists” cartoons drawn by artists who themselves suffered reprisals in the past convey guidelines to foreign visitors for a responsible visit to Myanmar (http://www.dosanddontsfortourists.com/). This booklet is part of Myanmar's sustainable tourism strategy, which was developed by the HSF in cooperation with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (http://www.hss.de/southeastasia/en/myanmar/news-events/2012/the-draft-responsible-tourism-policy-for-myanmar-formulated-successfully.html). Dr. Witterauf agreed with U Htay Aung, Minister of Hotels and Tourism, that in the future the HSF will put emphasis on the development of tourism strategies in rural areas.