Burma economy: IMF says growth to accelerate further. 8 May 2012Last updated at 22:12 ET The decision to float the currency has been one of the boldest economic reforms in Burma Burma's growth is set to accelerate, driven by commodity exports and increased investment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
The IMF has forecast growth of 6% for the next financial year, up from 5.5% in the current year. Burma has introduced economic and political reforms, including floating its currency, to open its markets. Various countries have also lifted some of the sanctions imposed against it. "It has very rich natural resources, a young labour force and is close to some of the most dynamic economies in the world," said Meral Karasulu, IMF's Mission Chief for Burma.
More reforms. Burma. Burma ( i/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə), officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, commonly shortened to Myanmar ( i/ˈmjɑːnˌmɑr/ MYAHN-mar,[7] /ˈmaɪænmɑr/ or /ˈmjænmɑr/),[8][9][10][11] is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand.
One third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 miles) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Aung San Suu Kyi devient députée de Birmanie. La lauréate du prix Nobel de la paix Aung San Suu Kyi a prêté serment mercredi devant le Parlement birman, un instant aussi bref qu’historique à l’issue duquel elle a endossé le premier mandat électoral de son histoire, après deux décennies d'âpre lutte politique.
L’opposante, qui avait remporté haut-la-main son premier siège lors des partielles du 1er avril, et 33 autres députés de la Ligue nationale pour la démocratie (LND), ont promis de concert de «sauvegarder» la Constitution, qui accorde des pouvoirs immenses aux militaires. «Je serai loyal à la République de l’Union de Birmanie et à ses habitants et tiendrai toujours en estime la non-désintégration de l’Union, la non-désintégration de la solidarité nationale et le perpétuation de la souveraineté», ont-ils aussi promis, debout devant le président de la chambre basse, l’ancien général Shwe Mann.
Trois autres députés étaient absents, en voyage à l'étranger. Dialogue politique. Ending Myanmar's civil war. Beijing, China - In the past year, Myanmar's government has implemented a surprising series of liberalising reforms.
Facing strong environmental and labour protests by activists and NGOs, President Thein Sein has halted construction of the Chinese-backed Myitsone hydroelectric dam, which would have been one of the largest dams in the world (152m tall) and was projected to supply 3,600 to 6,000MW of electricity, largely to Yunnan Province in China. In response to similar concerns, Thein Sein also stopped the building of a 4,000MW coal-fired power plant in the new Special Economic Zone, Dawei, where Thailand's largest construction company, Italian-Thai, is building a deepwater port to support container shipping to compete with Singapore and China. He created a human rights commission that subsequently advocated for the release of the remaining political prisoners in the country. British rule Divides were not only drawn on ethnic lines; religious distinctions were forged as well.
Is Myanmar the new Asian tiger? Bangkok, Thailand - While the big story of 2012 in south-west Asia is the increasingly lethal US-Iran psychodrama, there's no bigger story in south-east Asia in the Year of the Dragon than the controlled opening of Myanmar.
Everyone and his neighbour, East and West, has been trekking to Myanmar since US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit last November. It's virtually impossible these days to book a flight or a hotel room. Like Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and Astana in Kazakhstan a few years ago, the new capital Naypyidaw ("the abode of kings") - built from scratch with natural gas wealth halfway between Rangoon and Mandalay - is surging as a new promised land. In parallel, the European Union (EU) has lifted a travel ban on senior Myanmar officials. The Myanmar delegation was virtually mobbed at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos.
Myanmar: What is in it for the US? - Inside Story Americas. There has been a flurry of recent visits to Myanmar by Western governments offering more development assistance.
The US says it now wants to restore full diplomatic relations with the nation following its recent reforms. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican politician in the US senate, is in Myanmar. He met with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday and then with President Thein Sein, on Tuesday. McConnell said: "We also look forward to a free and fair election, a by-election on April 1, and in the wake of that I think it would be appropriate for us to further consider, in the United States, the various sanctions that we have in place and the appropriateness of continuing those.
" His visit follows US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's visit last month to the country. It marks a new engagement with the nation. In November 2010, an election took place which led to a nominally civilian government. And the government is now pursuing peace deals with ethnic minority rebels.