Yangon, Oct 11 (IANS): Myanmar is actively working to accelerate the growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to drive the country's economic development, the state-run daily The Mirror reported on Friday.

During a meeting of the MSME Development Work Committee on Thursday, the committee's chairman Vice Senior General Soe Win, who is also Vice Chairman of Myanmar's State Administration Council, said that MSMEs are being developed with the aim of encouraging local products, substituting imports, and enhancing export opportunities, Xinhua news agency reported.

He also said that since Myanmar's MSME sector currently contributes only an estimated 30 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), efforts must be intensified to increase this contribution and provide more employment opportunities, it said.

As of now, Myanmar has 102 state-owned factories and workshops, 47,119 private factories and workshops, 33 industrial wards, three special economic zones, and two deepwater ports that contribute to the MSME sector, the report said.

The MSME committee's meeting in Nay Pyi Taw also discussed matters related to the One Region One Product (OROP) initiative and plans for exhibitions and competitions of MSME products, it added.