Myanmar hosts customs meet

Myanmar hosts customs meet

YANGON (AFP): While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers were meeting in Bangkok, Myanmar was hosting an ASEAN customs meeting, officials said on Sunday.

Yangon has hosted the eighth ASEAN customs directors general meeting, designed to improve ties between customs officials and crack down on smuggling, Myanmar minister for finance Khin Maung Thein said.

The meeting has been attended by customs directors from all 10 ASEAN countries as well as Japan.

Yangon and Bangkok are two of Southeast Asia's major transit points for smuggling art, artifacts, drugs and people.

Myanmar became a signatory to the ASEAN customs agreement in 1997, when the military-ruled country became a full member of the Southeast Asia group.