Myanmar to draft national development assistance policy

Myanmar will draft a national policy on development assistance to prescribe the kind of assistance the country would prefer to receive, official media reported Tuesday, quoting State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The policy will seek to streamline and clarify current procedure relating development assistance, Suu Kyi told the first meeting between the Development Assistance Coordination Unit (DACU) and the Cooperation Partners Group in Nay Pyi Taw Monday.

The DACU will consult closely with Line Ministries and Partners in Development, drawing on international best practice but be based on close consideration of Myanmar's context, she said.

She called for identification of priority projects for the development assistance based on the government's 12 economic policies.

She stressed the important role of consultants in addressing the development assistance, emphasizing the need for consultants to have a sensitivity and awareness to the country context and a readiness to collaborate and transfer knowledge.

She also urged for refreshing the sector working group, calling for evaluation of development assistance proposals by the Economic Committee.

With the introduction of new regulations earlier this month, all partners in development will now be able to renew visa inside the country.

Relating to MoU approval, the DACU will seek to streamline existing bureaucratic procedures, she said.

The state counselor also called on the DACU to further strengthen government's engagement with civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations and major domestic and international philanthropists to encourage greater coordination and alignment of their valuable efforts with Myanmar's national priorities. Endit