The European Union intends to establish a full delegation, which oversees EU aid, in Myanmar this year, broadening a plan announced more than a year ago and signaling normalization of ties between the two.
The announcement Thursday (Jan. 17) by Catherine Ashton, EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and European Commission vice president, came days before the Myanmarese government hosts the First Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum in Naypyidaw.
At the Jan. 19-20 gathering, the government and its development partners are expected to adopt the Naypyidaw Accord for Effective Development Cooperation, a set of commitments involving country-specific actions that are “clear, measurable and monitorable.”
“The European Union has followed and welcomed the historic changes in Burma/Myanmar and we encourage the country to continue in its wide-ranging reforms,” Ashton said in a statement. “The opening of a delegation in Yangon will allow the EU to step up its dialogue and cooperation with national authorities and other stakeholders with a view to contributing to the country’s economic, political and social development.”
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About the author
Eliza Villarino
Eliza Villarino currently manages one of today’s leading publications on humanitarian aid, global health and international development, the weekly GDB. At Devex, she has helped grow a global newsroom, with talented journalists from major development hubs such as Washington, D.C, London and Brussels. She regularly writes about innovations in global development.