From 6 to 11 May 2012 the President of the Parliament of Myanmar, Thura Shwe Mann, stays with a fifteen-member delegation at the invitation of the Hanns Seidel Foundation for the first time in Europe. He is accompanied by four committee chairmen of Myanmar’s Parliament as well as two representatives of the opposition. The delegation is in Germany since 1987 the first high-level group of visitors from Myanmar. The purpose of the visit to Munich, Berlin and Brussels is to introduce the parliamentary system in Europe. Topics such as the functioning of parliamentary democracy, federalism, coalition governments and the role of the opposition are on the agenda.

During Wednesday’s meeting with the President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lamm, Thura Shwe Mann underlined that Myanmar aims for democratic and economic progress. The President of Parliament located the reasons for the democratic opening which took place last year mainly in the fact that democratic systems were the most stable. The Southeast Asian country felt very connected to the Federal Republic and welcomed a deeper engagement explicitly. Germany as a high-tech country enjoyed a great reputation in the Myanmar population. When asked about the role of opposition, the politician emphasized he thought favorably about the entry of the NLD in the Myanmar Parliament and that he was looking forward to working with its chairwoman, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Bundestag President Lammert urged during the conversation that economic reforms can only succeed if at the same time political reforms were introduced. A government wouldn’t only be strong at the time when parliament was weak. Henceforth, competition mechanisms would have to be implemented in politics and economy more and more. Germany would take a prominent role in the European Union especially because it had learned from the mistakes of his past. Norbert Lammert expressly welcomed the latest development in Myanmar and announced a return visit of the Vice President of the German Bundestag.

Over the course of the visit, the delegation also met with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Development Minister Dirk Niebel, Economy Minister Philipp Rösler, and numerous members of parliament, including the chairman of the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dagmar Wöhrl, and deputy chairman of the CDU / CSU faction in the Bundestag, Dr. Christian Ruck. Furthermore, in Munich talks with President of the Landtag, Barbara Stamm as well as at the Hanns Seidel Foundation’s headquarters with the chairman of the Foundation, Hans Zehetmair, were held. He was impressed by the current pace of reform in Myanmar, and assured the Foundation’s ongoing support.

On Wednesday evening, the delegation journeyed on to Brussels. There, on Thurdsday and Friday discussions with the highest representatives of EU institutions took place. The delegation met with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, the European Council President, Herman van Rompuy, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manual Barroso and the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. Furthermore, with European Deputies from the delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) a roundtable discussion in parliament was held under the direction of Werner Langen, leader of the delegation.

In the talks, the EU side welcomed the democratic reform process of the country and on their part assured support to the parliamentary representatives from Myanmar. Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann in turn guaranteed the will to sustainability and the further continuation of the reforms. At a conference of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the democratic way of Myanmar and its international integration in detail were discussed with the European public.