US flexes diplomatic muscle in Myanmar

As donor darling Myanmar gets ready to hold general elections in late 2015, the United States is increasing its diplomatic presence in the former military state — with the U.S. Agency for International Development as one of the main arms.

“USAID doesn’t have a traditional development agenda in [Myanmar],” Jason Foley, deputy assistant administrator at the the agency’s Asian bureau, said Wednesday in an event hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Beginning in 2015, we are broadening our diplomatic engagement to focus on three key areas: the elections, the peace process and Rakhine state,” he added.

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