On November 2, 2016 the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe announced that Japan will provide 800 billion Yen (US $ 7.73 billion) to Myanmar over the next fiveyears. The money will be provided in order to assist the peace process and the development in the country. The statement was made at a joint press conference with Myanmar State Counsellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to Japan. Mr. Abe said that he hopes that the funding will help Myanmar develop. Out of the promised funds, 40 billion Yen (US $ 387 million) will be used to assist ethnic minority groups and the remaining will be invested in airports and electricity projects. In a meeting that took place prior to the press conference, Mr. Abe pledged Japan’s full support for public and private sectors in Myanmar.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi acknowledged Japan’s assistance as helping Myanmar to ensure peace and stability. She said that she believes that Japan will prove to be a trusted partner of Myanmar during this period of her country’s transition. Ms. Suu Kyi’s visit to Japan was focused on promoting Myanmar as a destination for investors. Earlier, she visited China, the United States and India for the same purpose. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the fiscal year 2014, which ended in March 2015, Japan’s direct investment in Myanmar reached US $ 86 million and Myanmar’s export to Japan hit US $ 513 million. Most of the exports from Myanmar are clothing and farm produce and in this fiscal year it imported US $ 1.3 billion worth of products from Japan which were mostly cars and machineries.