Canada to open embassy in Myanmar after most sanctions eased earlier this year

OTTAWA – Canada will open an embassy in Myanmar in recognition of the country’s moves to improve human rights and democracy.

The move follows the Conservative government’s loosening of most of its sanctions against Myanmar earlier this year.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says he hopes the move to open an embassy in Myanmar, once known as Burma, will build on other positive developments in that country.

Earlier this year, Baird visited Myanmar to confer honorary Canadian citizenship on the former political prisoner Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who won a parliamentary seat in historic elections there.

The minister’s announcement came on the same day as the United Nations office in Geneva said 10 staff members of the UN and foreign NGOs have been detained in Myanmar.

Baird says while there has been much reform in Myanmar, more progress is needed and he is keeping an eye on the situation.