Myanmar military takeover threatens country's development: World Bank
02 February, 2021
The Environment Bank on Monday (Feb 1) said it had been gravely concerned about the current situation in Myanmar and a military takeover of power, warning the events risked a significant setback to the country’s transition and its own development prospects.
"We are concerned about the safety and security of men and women in Myanmar, including our staff and partners, and are troubled by the shutdown of communications channels both within Myanmar and with the exterior world," the lender explained in a statement issued late on Monday.
Myanmar's army on Monday handed capacity to military chief General Min Aung Hlaing and imposed a good year-long state of crisis, saying it had responded to what it called election fraud.
The approach sparked condemnation from Western leaders and a risk of renewed sanctions by the US government, and raised questions about the outlook for a million Rohingya refugees.
The Community Bank said it had been a committed partner in supporting Myanmar’s transition to democracy for days gone by decade, together with its efforts to attain broad-based sustainable growth and increased social inclusion.
"We remain focused on these goals. Our thoughts happen to be with the persons of Myanmar," the statement explained.
The Bank's website lists US$900 million in Environment Bank financing commitments to Myanmar in 2020, and US$616 million in 2017.
It cited what it called measurable improvements in social welfare because the country’s opening in 2011, with poverty falling to 25 % in 2017 from 48 % in 2005.
Reform momentum slowed after 2016 as a good newly elected civilian government grappled with defining its economic vision, the Bank, though it said the federal government had recently adopted an ambitious sustainable development plan and reinvigorated its economic reform agenda.
Economic growth was slated to drop to just 0.5 % in fiscal year 2019/20 from 6.8 % a year earlier, the Bank said, though it said the market could contract as much as 2.5 % if the COVID-19 pandemic was protracted.
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