Suu Kyi sworn in as Myanmar's foreign minister

Yangon, (IINA) - Aung San Suu Kyi was sworn on Wednesday as Myanmar's minister of foreign affairs, while her longtime friend Htin Kyaw assumed the presidency, as the country formally transferred power to the first civilian-led government in more than five decades, DPA reported.
In addition to the foreign affairs post, Suu Kyi will also be the minister of education, the minister of the president's office, and the minister of electric power and energy.
Htin Kyaw is a close advisor to Suu Kyi and longtime member of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won 80 percent of the votes in November's election.
"I would like to stress that our government will prioritize national reconciliation, peace, social and economic development and to have a constitution that grants democracy and federalism in the country," Htin Kyaw told the parliament.
Myanmar had been under military-dominated rule since a coup in 1962, and the elections in November which brought the new government to power were the first openly contested polls since an election in 1990 that the junta annulled.
Suu Kyi was sworn in alongside 17 other union ministers, members of the constitutional tribune and members of the Union Election Commission.
Two vice presidents, one of them a military nominee, also took the oath of office in the parliament in Naypyitaw.
Htin Kyaw takes over from former general Thein Sein, who has led the country since 2011. Under Thein Sein, the government set in motion reforms that have opened up the once-isolated country to the outside world, including to foreign investment.
However, several key portfolios in the government, including defense, are reserved for the military.
AG/IINA

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