NAY PYI TAW, 22 February 2024 – The Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar (MIFER), in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat and the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to ASEAN, hosted the ASEAN Project Development Training for Myanmar Government Officials from 20-22 February in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The training was conducted as part of the implementation of the 4th ASEAN Development Fund (ADF) Work Plan.
Dr. Kan Zaw, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar, highlighted the importance of ASEAN Free Trade in global trade and considering new issues in areas such as, Intellectual Property; Competition and State-owned Enterprises; Digital Trade and E-commerce; Energy; Raw Materials; Trade and Environment; Trade and Labour; Government Procurement; Remanufactured goods.
Noting that Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (CLM) are still behind in development, in comparison with other ASEAN Member States, the Union Minister further highlighted CLM’s need for capacity building and awareness programmes to upgrade their knowledge and skills, especially in new areas and emerging issues related with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Therefore, the Union Minister acknowledged that the training is crucial for Myanmar to fill the gap and address the challenges in implementing FTA.
A total of 46 Myanmar Government Officials from 17 line ministries across the three ASEAN Community Pillars participated in the three-day training. Through presentations, exercises, group works, and panel discussions, participants were trained by the technical experts from ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) to develop regional project proposals and manage ASEAN cooperation projects using a results-based management approach.
At the end of the training, participants developed and presented six regional project proposal drafts on: (1) Enhancing the Electronic Payment System in Trading among ASEAN Member States; (2) Strengthened Social Protection/ Social Security of Migrant Workers in ASEAN Member States; (3) Project for Capacity Building Programme for Development of E-commerce; (4) Enhancing Sustainable Energy Development in ASEAN Member States; (5) Feasibility Study on Hydro Power Project on Salween River in order to enhance Integration of Renewable Energy to ASEAN Power Grid; and (6) Enhancing Institutional Capacity in Government Sector in ASEAN Member States.
Dr. Marlar Myo Nyunt, Director General, Foreign Economic Relations Department of MIFER Myanmar, closed the training and thanked ASEC and the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to ASEAN for collaborating with MIFER. She requested ASEC to consider another capacity-building programme for Myanmar Officials in other relevant areas.
She is confident that the knowledge and skills acquired from the training would be beneficial for the participants and encouraged all participants to share their knowledge to the respective Ministries/Organisations. The training concluded with awarding of certificates to the participants by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations and ASEC to mark their completion of the course.
