1 - Myanmar: Reforms Gathering Momentum

Summary

Until 2011 Myanmar had been as if asleep for quite some time. When Myanmar woke up, it was abruptly faced with a world economy in crisis, including the sovereign debt crisis in the European Union and economic recession in the United States. While the economies of many countries in the Southeast Asian region (except, perhaps, for countries that had an adequate level of domestic consumption, such as Indonesia) suffered various impacts as a result of these developments, particularly because of their effect on international trade and investment, for Myanmar the blows were shattering.

In addition to these external factors, which have had both direct and indirect impacts on the national economy as well as on regional economies, Myanmar has been struggling to address internal multi-dimensional problems that had developed over past years. Myanmar was isolated for many decades, but despite this, the Myanmar government did try systematically to tackle development issues in various sectors. The quick fixes and short-term therapies that were practised in the past caused these inter-connected issues to become more complex, which means that now systematic multi-dimensional policies are needed to address them adequately. Aiming at developing a more systematic approach for resolving these issues, the Myanmar government has drafted a reform framework, under which sectoral priority areas for people-centered development have been identified through a multi-dimensional approach. Among these priority areas are some in which quick wins for the nation and the people have been further identified.

Among all the priority areas for development identified in Myanmar's overall reform framework, numerous measures were specified for early action, taking into account the proper sequencing for development. If you were to ask me whether or not this process has produced a perfect reform framework for Myanmar, I would have to say that that goal is still a long way off, and the framework far from perfect. However, with sustained commitment on the part of the government and others, tremendous efforts are being made to move things forward in every possible way.

Perceptions of Myanmar's reforms vary, and expectations for Myanmar's socio-economic development are great. There are many people, including the majority of the international community, who appreciate the significant progress in the area of political and economic reform that the government of Myanmar has already achieved, with the result that the majority of international sanctions against Myanmar have been either lifted totally or suspended.