US to open foreign trade service branch in Myanmar's Yangon

  The United States will open a foreign trade service branch in Myanmar's Yangon in a bid to boost trade ties with the Southeast Asian nation, according to state media Friday.
It was touched upon when Myanmar President U Thein Sein met with visiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in Nay Pyi Taw Thursday.
The pair also had discussions on increased direct investment by U.S. companies, cooperation in energy and mutual cooperation in agriculture sector, the report said.
On Thursday, a business luncheon was hosted by US-ASEAN Economic Council in the Myanmar capital, attended by Vice President U Nyan Tun and U.S. Ambassador Derek Mitchell as well as government officials and business leaders.
A wide range of sectors such as transport, power generation, gas exploration, banking and insurance, foreign investment, dispute settlement, potential cooperation in economic development, anti-corruption, transparency, ease of doing business and formulation of competition law was discussed in the business luncheon.
Pritzker, who arrived Nay Pyi Taw earlier Thursday on a two-day visit to Myanmar, also met with Speaker of the Parliament and the Lower House U Shwe Mann and Chairperson of the Lower House's Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquility Aung San Suu Kyi.
According to Myanmar official statistics, U.S. investment in Myanmar amounted to 243.5 million U.S. dollars as of January 2014, standing the 13th in Myanmar's foreign investors line-up.
Myanmar-U.S. bilateral trade in 2013 stood 137.5 million U.S. dollars with Myanmar's export to the United States taking 18.18 million U.S. dollars, while its import from the U.S. was valued at 119.32 million U.S. dollars.