YANGON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Major business organizations of Myanmar and Brunei have reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on promoting trade ties between the two countries, especially in trading of Myanmar's gems, jade and jewelry, a leading local weekly, the Myanmar Times, reported Friday.

    The recent MoU between the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and its Brunei counterpart was the last which Myanmar initiated with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the report quoted the UMFCCI as saying.

    The MoU has paved way for Brunei entrepreneurs to have access to Myanmar's gems shows held seasonally in which the Brunei business community has shown interest, the sources said.

    Brunei stands the 7th largest trading partner of Myanmar among ASEAN nations with their bilateral trade volume being expected to grow more.

    According to official statistics, Myanmar-Brunei bilateral trade accounted for about 800,000 U.S. dollars out of Myanmar's total trade with ASEAN members which stood at 4.06 billion dollars in 2006-07.

    In July last year, Brunei exempted tariff on over 204 items of products imported from Myanmar under the ASEAN Integration System of Preference program in a bid to boost the country's textile production, local media reported earlier.