Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech at Singapore's Istana, Nov. 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
SINGAPORE, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- National reconciliation and peace is unavoidably important for Myanmar, it is not a matter of choice, said Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi Wednesday during her three-day visit in Singapore.
This is Suu Kyi's first official visit to the city state since her appointment in March 2016. She made the above remarks at International Enterprise Singapore Global Conversations, an engagement session with business leaders organized by IE Singapore, a governmental trade promoting agency.
In her 10-minute speech, Suu Kyi noted that peace and prosperity cannot be separated, especially at this stage for Myanmar.
"We do not want our country to be unstable, but we have had a long history of disunity within our nation. National reconciliation and peace is unavoidably important for us. It's not a matter of choice," she said.
"we have to achieve peace and national reconciliation so that our country can be able to progress."
The state counselor expounded the government's new investment law and economic policies, exchanged ideas with senior representatives from Singapore companies with expertise in urban development, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, energy and utilities as well as transport and logistics.
Suu Kyi stressed that the newly-passed investment law is intended to be business-friendly, and will provide the security that investors wish to see. Myanmar is open to feedback on the country's rules and regulations, she said.
She recounted that Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said that in twenty years' time, Singapore will have caught up with Myanmar.
"I think we have to change that a bit -- in 20 years' time, Myanmar will have overtaken Singapore," she said, adding she hopes Singapore will help Myanmar do that.
Later in the day, Suu Kyi called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who said the two countries will discuss a bilateral investment treaty and update an agreement on avoidance of double taxation.
Myanmar and Singapore established diplomatic ties in 1966. Singapore is Myanmar's second largest investor after China with an accumulative investment of 15.596 billion U.S. dollars as of October 2016.
