Myanmar continues to face many domestic political problems. Major challenges include the transition to civilian rule and the establishment of a market economy. There is an urgent need to develop human resources dealing with such fields as the shift to open economic policies utilizing the market mechanism, efficient administration of the national economy, and improvement of social development. This project is undertaking administrative capacity building in such areas as policy formulation and implementation, and targets midlevel bureaucrats and young researchers, scholars, and journalists.
This year, an intensive training workshop for 120 midlevel bureaucrats was held in Yangon (November 20–25, 2002), followed by a study tour of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand for 30 selected trainees. A six-month journalist development program was also held in Yangon, with four journalists from Australia and the United States as lecturers. It is hoped that these activities will contribute to the improvement of the economy and finance and the social development to which Myanmar aspires.