Russia seeks deeper ties with Myanmar in trade and nuclear energy

MOSCOW, March 4 (Reuters) - Russia told Myanmar's leader and military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday that Moscow saw good prospects for expanding cooperation in a range of areas including agriculture and nuclear energy.

"Despite the illegitimate sanctions against Russia and Myanmar, our trade and economic cooperation is developing successfully, and mutual trade is growing," Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

"There are good opportunities to increase our cooperation in the energy sector, peaceful nuclear energy, transport infrastructure, and agriculture," Mishustin said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian companies plan to invest in Myanmar's special economic zone in Dawei, Mishustin said, without naming specific firms. The long-delayed Dawei project on the Andaman Sea is intended to be a major hub for industry, technology and transport.

Hlaing, 68, who rarely travels abroad, was greeted earlier by Sergei Shoigu, one of President Vladimir Putin's top security officials. He was also due to meet Putin, and the Kremlin said documents would be signed with Myanmar.

"We have been very actively developing relations with Myanmar. This is a very important partner of ours in East Asia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The country of 55 million people has been in turmoil since February 2021 when the military ousted the administration of Nobel peace prize winner and NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta plans this year to hold an election, which critics have derided as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Along with China, Russia is a supporter of Myanmar's military and has said it is developing cooperation, including between their air forces.

The Soviet Union established relations with Myanmar on its independence from Britain in 1948. Russia and Myanmar have long been talking about building a small nuclear power plant in Myanmar that would have a RITM-200 pressurised water reactor.