The Russia-Myanmar Association for Friendship and Cooperation has signed an MoU with local companies to build a vacation housing project at Ngapali Beach in Rakhine State.
According to reports in state-run media, the agreement was signed with Treasure of Ngapali Development and Shwin Pyaw Pyaw Trading at a ceremony at Pan Pacific Hotel on 4 February.
The parties also signed agreements relating to tourism promotion and coffee bean production and exports from the Ngapali Beach region.
No further details about the agreements were not provided.
The ceremony, held at Pan Pacific Hotel on 4 February, was reportedly attended by Russia-Myanmar Association for Friendship & Cooperation senior vice president Anatoly Bulochnikov, a delegation of Russian economists and representatives from Treasure of Ngapali Development and Shwin Pyaw Pyaw Trading.
Registered in May 2022, Treasure of Ngapali Development is a local company formed with two Russian investors, including Bulochnikov. The company profile can be viewed here.
According to Google maps, Treasure of Ngapali Development owns a site southeast of the Ngapali Beach resort zone.
Shwin Pyaw Pyaw Trading, registered in June 2019, is a local company engaged in agriculture and livestock production as well as tour and travel services.
We note that the State Administration Council (SAC) and the Russian government have held regular discussions on encouraging Russian travel to Myanmar and investment in the tourism sector.
Last month, military administration ministers held a series of meetings with a Russian delegation led by Bulochnikov that covered bilateral cooperation in a range of sectors including transport and tourism (see previous article).
Former president of the Myanmar-Russia Friendship Association Aung Thaw was also recently appointed as the military administration’s new tourism minister, replacing Htay Aung, who will chair the Myanmar Anti-Corruption Commission.
Historically, Russians have accounted for a tiny fraction of visitors to Myanmar. Just 5,259 Russians visited Myanmar in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, of the total 1.9m visitors to the country (not including border traders), according to Ministry of Tourism data.
Ngapali Beach is one of Myanmar’s most popular tourist destinations and had 65 licensed accommodations as of 2021, according to Ministry of Tourism data.