Country
Statement
By
r
'R:eN.)
~
H.E.
Lei Lei
Thein,
Deputy
Minister
for
the
Ministry
of
National
Planning
and
Economic
Development,
Myanmar
for
the
71
st Session
of
the
Economic
and
Social
Commission
for
Asia
and
the
Pacific(ESCAP)
Bangkok,
Thailand
25 - 29
May
2015
Mr.
Chairman,
Executive
Secretary
Dr.
Shamshad
Akhtar,
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies
and
Gentlemen,
It
is indeed a pleasure and honour for me to deliver a
country statement on the
71th
Session ofUNESCAP.
On
behalf
of
the Government
of
the Republic
of
the
Union
of
Myanmar, we would 'like to express our sincere
appreciation to the UNESCAP for organizing this
important session and also congratulates Mr. Chairman for
being elected as the Chairman
of
this session.
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
2
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
MDG
will be ended in this year 2015 and we are
finalizing SDGs for the post
2015. The theme topic
of
this
session,
"Balancing the three dimensions
of
sustainable
development; from integration to
implementation", is very
appropriate and important to us because when we
implement our strategies, plans and programs for our
socw-economtc
development, we need to maintain
environmental conservation
as well. Without
environmental protection, development cannot be
sustained in the long term. We need to work together for
balancing economic, social and environmental activities.
As we know, the Asia and Pacific region is growing
rapidly with its dynamic economy and cultural diversity
and is set to play a critical and important role in the world.
However, the social and economic disparities between
LDCs including Myanmar and the rest
of
the countries are
widening. LDCs have generally not been as successful in
effectively integrating into the regional and global
economy. While some have been able to trigger economic
3
growth on the basis
of
exports
of
labour-intensive
manufacturing products or natural resources, such growth
in itself has often been insufficient to meet the
internationally agreed goals including MDGs.
The priority need is to narrow the development gap
through enhanced regional integration and connectivity for
the successful implementation
of
SDGs.
Mr.
Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
In the case
ofMyanmar,
since 2011, the Government
initiated series
of
reforms. The first stage
of
reforms was
focused on political and governance changes aimed
primarily at achieving peace and national unity.
It
success
provided foundations for the second stage
of
reforms
targeted at economic and social development in which
people centered development for inclusive growth has
been a guiding policy objective. This was followed by a
third stage
of
reforms aimed at the transformation
of
public administration and fourth stage
of
reform intended
to facilitate private sector development.
4
Although
we
made senes
of
reforms and gained
success in many areas,
we
also face significant challenges.
The major challenges are the lowest
GDP
per
capita and
electrification ratio in Asia, poverty and inequality, narrow
economic structure, inadequate domestic connectivity and
limited linkages to the regional economy. Regarding
MDG, we achieved some targets and slow progress in
some targets, so we are not likely to achieve all the MDG
goals.
We are
now
formulating and implementing the
National Comprehensive Development
Plan - NCDP,
2011-2031.
The NCDP serves as a framework for planning,
policy and investment decisions by setting priority
decisions, long term goals and broad strategies. Poverty
reduction, graduation from LDC and moving a knowledge
based economy are including in our priorities.
The first five-year plan
(2011-2016) targets people-
centered development, which improves the standard
of
living
of
Myanmar's people. The priority areas are access
to electricity, water supply, agricultural development,
job
creation as well as rural development.
5
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
In this context, we realize the importance
of
collaboration, cooperation, and inclusiveness for
sustainable development. we are working together with the
international and regional community, development
' '
6
partners, UN agencies, INGOs and NGOs, civil society
organizations, the private sector and our people.
We commit to cooperate more closely with the
countries in the region and UNESCAP in implementing
the coming Sustainable Development Goals process. For
successful implementation
of
SDGs, we would like to
request UNESCAP to provide capacity building to
vulnerable countries like LDCs and LLDCs.
In conclusion, Myanmar. has been cooperating with
the UN agencies, bilateral and regional institutions for the
economic and social development. We will be working
more closely with
UNESCAP and countries
of
Asia and
Pacific to achieve the goals
of
balancing the three
dimensions
of
sustainable development from integration to
implementation.
Thank you.
