From the left: Member of the Danish Parliament's Presidium, Bertel Haarder, the Speaker of Myanmar's/Burma's Parliament, Thura Shwe Mann, and the Speaker of the Danish Parliament, Mogens Lykketoft.
Photo: Hasse Ferrold

Shwe Mann, who was accompanied by a delegation comprising six Members of Parliament, was on an official visit to Denmark in connection with a major round trip of Europe.

After the meeting, the Speaker of the Danish Parliament, Mogens Lykketoft said: "The meeting with the former general and present Speaker of Parliament was inspiring and confirms the growing hope of genuine democratic reform and progress in Myanmar/Burma. On behalf of the Danish Parliament, we hope we will be able to cooperate with their Parliament by contributing our experience of building up and developing democratic institutions.”

The programme in the Danish Parliament also included a meeting with members of the Danish Parliament's Legal Services Office where, among other things, the subjects of conversation were the Danish Parliament's control of the Government and parliamentary working methods.

Later in the day, Shwe Mann met the Minister for Development Cooperation, Christian Friis Bach. A meeting was also arranged with the Confederation of Danish Industries before the delegation left Denmark.

Shwe Mann became the Speaker of Myanmar's/Burma's Parliament on 31 December 2011, before which he was a general in the Burmese Army.