JAKARTA: Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Monday that the European Union expected reforms in Myanmar to be more advanced in a year's time, when suspended sanctions are reassessed.
EU nations Monday put a halt to most sanctions against Myanmar for one year to reward a series of dramatic reforms since direct army rule ended last year.
Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc agreed a suspension against almost 500 individuals and more than 800 firms in a meeting in Luxembourg, diplomats told AFP.
Speaking in Jakarta, Terzi welcomed the move and said the EU hoped reforms would continue to progress over the next 12 months.
"It is (the) opening of credit and confidence vis-a-vis the developments in Burma," he told reporters, referring to the country by its old name.
Terzi, in Indonesia to attend an interfaith conference, said that in a year the EU would reassess "where we stand, with the expectation that we stand at a point which is much more advanced than it is now."
In a joint news conference with Terzi, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa welcomed the move in favour of a fellow country inside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
"It is in everyone's interest, we believe, to ensure that the process of transformation in Myanmar is made irreversible," Natalegawa said.
The easing of sanctions "we believe, will be part of that encouragement effort," he added.
The EU decisions are intended to reward Myanmar for sweeping reforms in the one-time pariah nation that culminated in opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's election to parliament on April 1.
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