• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News

    Vikram Nehru: On Aung San Suu Kyi’s ‘unfortunate’ message

    By Ivy Mungcal // 21 June 2012
    Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo by: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / CC BY-ND

    Aung San Suu Kyi has been urging donors and foreign investors to be cautiously optimistic about re-engaging with Myanmar. To Vikram Nehru of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, it signals that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate needs to evolve.

    Although not entirely wrong, Suu Kyi’s message is “unfortunate” and could have been more “nuanced,” Nehru says. She could have, for instance, called for investments in her country’s manufacturing industry and tourism, he adds.

    Suu Kyi has appealed for healthy skepticism from the international community when in comes to Myanmar’s ongoing reform process. She did recently recognize the country’s need for foreign aid and investment in a speech before the annual International Labor Organization conference in Switzerland.

    Nehru argues that while Suu Kyi is correct in highlighting the need for establishing rule of law in Myanmar, “the more immediate problems facing the poor must be addressed.” He adds that Suu Kyi “will have to evolve” if Myanmar’s political and economic transition is to be successful.

    “Suu Kyi will have to represent the people’s aspirations as opposition leader in parliament and support [Myanmar’s] interests abroad,” Nehru writes in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. “And that might mean encouraging foreign investors even if the country’s economic policies and institutions are badly in need of overhaul.”

    Nehru also outlines a to-do-list for the Suu Kyi’s National Democratic League party: “Flesh out and test its stance on human rights, tensions in ethnic minority areas, relations with the military and the appropriate role of the private sector, foreign investors and the government in the development process.”

    Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Democracy, Human Rights & Governance
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Ivy Mungcal

      Ivy Mungcal

      As former senior staff writer, Ivy Mungcal contributed to several Devex publications. Her focus is on breaking news, and in particular on global aid reform and trends in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Before joining Devex in 2009, Ivy produced specialized content for U.S. and U.K.-based business websites.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    The Trump EffectUS Institute of Peace headquarters transferred to Labor Department

    US Institute of Peace headquarters transferred to Labor Department

    Devex Pro LivePhilanthropy, blended finance, and the evolving role of NGOs

    Philanthropy, blended finance, and the evolving role of NGOs

    Devex DishDevex Dish: Moo-ving the needle on reducing methane from livestock

    Devex Dish: Moo-ving the needle on reducing methane from livestock

    The future of US aidReported State plan like ‘cutting your legs out from under you’

    Reported State plan like ‘cutting your legs out from under you’

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      The UN's changing of the guard
    • 4
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 5
      USAID's humanitarian bureau is under pressure and overstretched
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement