KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari will leave on a two-day official visit to Myanmar on Tuesday during which he will hold talks with Myanmar President U Thein Sein for promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, as well as enhancing consultation and cooperation in the multilateral arena.
Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that the President will also call on the democracy icon and Noble Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for which he will specially travel from the capital Nay Pai Taw to Yangon.
The President will also pay visit to the mausoleum of the last of the Moghul emperors Bahadur Shah Zafar in Yangon before returning home.
Farhatullah Babar said that the President's bilateral talks with President U Thein will focus on building a comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership.
He said that Myanmar is an important member of ASEAN (Association of the South East Asian Nations) and President Zardari will also raise the issue of upgrading institutional relations with the ASEAN to full dialogue partnership.
The two sides will also consider ways and means to enhance the two way trade and promote cooperation in oil and gas sector.
Since 1990, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for a total of 15 of the past 21 years. However she adopted a non-violent approach towards politics.
Owing to her non-violent approach and continued sacrifices for democratic ideals many governments and international figures have been calling for her release and that of other political prisoners in the country.
She was finally released in November 2010. During her incarceration, she was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990. In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Widely regarded a symbol of democracy in International Politics former Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has been in touch with Aung San Suu Kyi.
In May 2002 when Aung was temporarily released, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto while felicitating her wrote, "This is a great moment in the life of the people of Myanmar for whom your leadership symbolizes freedom and democracy. I hope that the release also signifies the first step by the Myanmar regime to build confidence with the opposition".
Benazir Bhutto wrote, "As an Asian leader who knows exile and imprisonment for her party, her family and herself, hearing of your release gladdened my heart. It is suffering for a cause greater than oneself, a cause dedicated to the people of one's motherland that enables one to feel happiness in the face of triumph".
President Zardari will share happiness with Aung San Suu Kyi in the beginning of the moments of her triumph, Farhatullah Babar said.
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