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Myanmar President U Thein Sein will pay official visits to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and France soon, said an official announcement on Thursday without specifying the date of his visit.
Expected in days, U Thein Sein's visits will be a follow-up of his last trip to five European countries in February-March this year, namely Norway, Finland, Austria, Belgium and Italy.
The trips also came after the European Union (EU) lifted all sanctions against Myanmar in April with the exception of the embargo on arms in recognition of the country's democratic reform process.
In April 2012, accompanied by an economic and trade delegation, British Prime Minister David Cameron made a historic visit to Myanmar after the new government took office in March 2011.
Britain has committed 185 million pounds (289 million U.S. dollars) for the next four years to fund health and education projects in Myanmar through non-governmental organizations. The funding for microfinance initiatives is expected to help up to 55, 000 rural people in establishing and developing small-scale enterprises.
Last month, Chief of the Defense Staff of British Armed Forces General Sir David Richardsm visited Myanmar, the first by the head of British armed forces in over 50 years. The visit was marked as a milestone in relations between the two armed forces of Myanmar and Britain after 1988.
Encouraged by Myanmar's new development, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Alain Juppe in January 2012 paid a visit to Myanmar, the first visit by a highest-ranking French official since 1988.
Following the visit, Myanmar and France have been stepping up cultural and tourism cooperation in such fields as preservation of cultural heritage, upgrading and preservation of museums, human resources development and granting of scholarship for Culture Ministry staff.
In September 2012, French Senator and Chairman of South Asia Committee Gerard Midquel visited Myanmar during which the two parliaments pledged close cooperation between them.
