Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Thursday promised support for democratisation and economic development in Myanmar as he held talks with the South-East Asian country's democracy campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. "Japan will support Myanmar's efforts aimed for the future," Abe told Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy party, who was making her first visit to Japan in 27 years.
It was the first time that a Japanese premier had met Suu Kyi, who had been a political prisoner for 15 years when Myanmar was under military rule before being freed in 2010 and becoming a member of parliament last year. The premier said his government and the Japanese private sector would assist Myanmar by building infrastructure, the Kyodo News agency reported, citing an unnamed government official who attended the meeting. "I hope there will be a closer co-operation between our countries and that there will be particular co-operation with regard to the agricultural sector and our educational system," Suu Kyi said after the meeting.