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Myanmar would like to participate in BRICS as an observer country, its Minister for Information Maung Maung Ohn has stated: “We are poised for cooperation with the integration as an observer country, without full membership.”
Russia took over the BRICS chairmanship from 1 January this year and will hold the BRICS summit with the participation of heads of state in Kazan from 22 to 24 October. The Myanmar government would like to participate in the BRICS summit, though it has not yet received an invitation, the minister said. ‘In the future, we have a desire to send an application for full membership of the association. In our region, Southeast Asia, many have already applied. And we want to do so,’ Maung Maung Ohn added.
Amid the re-orientation of trade from the West to Asian markets, Russia has been expanding its trade and, to some degree, investment ties with South Asian countries. Among them, Myanmar stands out as a promising market for Russian companies that are willing to fill in the niche created by the exit of major Western companies also from Myanmar. The Western sanctions imposed on Russia have pushed Moscow to re-assess its approach to Southeast Asia. With limited trade and investment relations in pre-2022, Moscow has since then re-invigorated bilateral political and economic ties with Naypyidaw.
This expansion fits into the overall Russian thinking toward foreign trade but also serves as preparation for further growth of commercial ties with South and Southeast Asia especially given the fact that Myanmar is a significant member of ASEAN. Myanmar also enjoys direct access to China, India, and ASEAN countries through ports in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
In December 2022, Russia and Myanmar agreed to develop cooperation in various spheres of bilateral interaction: in the customs sphere, in the field of protection of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population, as well as in education and science. The agreement is built on an earlier bilateral economic cooperation strategy signed in August 202, when Myanmar expressed interest in importing liquefied natural gas and other energy resources from Russia.
In June 2023 a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the directive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and Myanmar which aims at increasing cooperation in such areas as regional economic integration, customs regulation, energy and transport.
Related to this, in September 2023, direct air traffic between Russia and Myanmar resumed after a 30-year break and the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism development the same month. Myanmar has also announced plans to join the Russian equivalent of SWIFT (SPFS) and in June the country’s officials proposed using the Chinese RMB Yuan and Ruble in settlements between the two countries.
Bilateral trade during H1 2024 has been somewhat erratic, however reached US$257 million as of the end of June, implying a total bilateral trade turnover in excess of US$500 million, which would b a record high.
Russia’s exports to Myanmar mainly consist of hard coal, three-component fertilizers, diammonium phosphate, refined sunflower oil, ammonium sulfate, anthracite, bulk semi-finished products, and unvulcanized rubber. The top Russian imports from Myanmar include men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, cotton sewn garments, sweaters, vests, and similar apparel.
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