Myanmar: Making the Reforms Count

Myanmar is rapidly emerging from half a century of isolation. Over the last two years, the government has made great strides in political and economic reforms and in improving its diplomatic relationship with the international community. Despite these changes, Myanmar faces many challenges in sustaining the momentum of reform and transformation. In addition, the international community has not developed a strategy for working together to assist the country’s progress.

On February 26, Global Economy and Development at Brookings and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hosted a discussion on the shifting landscape and new challenges in Myanmar as well as the IMF and international community’s role in addressing these. Panelists included: Priscilla Clapp, former U.S. mission chief to Myanmar; Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Lex Rieffel; Anoop Singh, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund; and Frances Zwenig, president of the US-ASEAN Business Council Institute, Inc. Vikram Nehru, senior associate in the Asia Program and Bakrie Chair in Southeast Asian Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, moderated the discussion.