Thein Sein Quotes

I myself am from a very poor background; I experienced firsthand poverty in this country, and that is not unrelated to my desire, from the moment I became president, to make a priority of poverty reduction in this country.

The cover story of the magazine [TIME magazine] depicting a few individuals who are acting contrary to most Myanmar, is creating misconceptions of Buddhism.

[ ... ] [E]very citizen has to avoid any activities and speeches that harm the image of the country and interests of the people.

There are no Rohingya among the races [in Burma]. We only have Bengalis who were brought for farming [during British rule].

People would like to see peace and stability, and that is why we have had engagement with the ethnic armed groups. That's why our reform process is based on the wishes and the will of the people.

To have internal peace and stability and economic development, it is important to have good relations with the political parties that we have in our country. That is why we have had engagement with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

As prime minister, I was able often to meet people, to try to understand their needs and the country's economic situation - but it wasn't as if I was planning or ever expected to become president, so I wasn't thinking back then of what I would do if I was in this position, I was just trying to understand the problems and challenges.