The National Unity Government (NUG) has officially notified the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the investment and economic agreements signed during military council leader Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Russia are invalid, according to NUG Presidential Office spokesperson U Kyaw Zaw. The notification emphasizes that these agreements, made during Min Aung Hlaing’s recent trip, will not result in sustainable long-term investments.
Min Aung Hlaing visited Russia and Belarus from March 3 to March 9, during which he sought to secure military weapons, illegal funding channels, and arrangements for sending Myanmar workers abroad. The military council has celebrated this trip as highly successful, but the NUG has warned that any agreements made during this visit lack legitimacy. The trip was primarily aimed at supporting the military council’s grip on power, procuring weapons, seeking illegal financial channels, exploiting Myanmar’s workforce, and attempting to boost the morale of their failing military forces while seeking political legitimacy through fraudulent elections.
The National Unity Government has made it clear that it will only honor and take responsibility for international agreements and treaties that were signed before the military coup. The NUG has issued orders to immediately suspend all investment activities approved by the military council’s Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC). Through Notification 1/2021 issued by the NUG’s Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment, all investment permits and approvals granted after February 1, 2021 – the date of the illegal military coup – have been declared void. The government has specifically warned international investors against seeking or continuing any investment activities that require approval from the military council’s investment commission, emphasizing that such investments will not be recognized as legitimate by the rightful government of Myanmar.
