February 19, 2016

India, Myanmar to hold coordinated patrol in Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal

India and Myanmar have signed an agreement on standard operating procedure for coordinated patrols in the strategically significant Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal even.

As part of the ongoing India-Myanmar defence relations, the fourth edition of the India-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) was successfully undertaken from February 13-16 along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Andaman Sea.

Indian Navy ships Saryu and Bitra, along with Myanmar ships Aung Zeya and FAC 563, participated in the 4th IMCOR. (Courtesy of The Economic Times)

Sardar Umar Alam, Head of UNESCO, Yangon Office: Interview

How is the Capacity Development for Education for All (CapEFA) programme enhancing management skills in the Ministry of Education (MoE)?

SARDAR UMAR ALAM: In 2012, Myanmar took the overdue decision to reform the education sector, and thus to improve access to and quality of education. Through CapEFA and other education sector programmes, UNESCO strengthened national capacity in the priority areas of policy formulation, decentralised education planning, education costs, monitoring and evaluation, financial planning and management. We appreciate the government’s lead in the reform process and have supported the MoE by providing tools in order to strengthen the process, as per international standards. UNESCO’s focus has been to increase the MoE’s efficiency and effectiveness in delivery quality. We have noticed that the steps taken by the ministry have been equally rewarding, as they have restructured the ministry and realigned departments. This includes setting up the new Department for Teacher Education, and the current focus on setting up an Education Management Information System for Myanmar. This, in turn, will empower state and township level officers, who are at the forefront of managing education and education investments, to better prepare plans for school management. UNESCO will continue to support MoE in developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that would further strengthen their decision-making, accountability and transparency. (Courtesy of oxfordbusinessgroup.com)

Help Myanmar build democracy

For decades, the isolationist nation-state of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was ruled with an iron fist by an authoritarian regime that crushed reform movements and imprisoned dissidents.

However, in recent years, the country has slowly begun to emerge from the darkness. The much-anticipated transition to democratic rule will enter a new phase in March, when a newly elected government finally takes control of many of the levers of power.

Myanmar held flawed but nominally democratic elections in November 2015. “The 8 November elections were a major waypoint in Myanmar’s transition from authoritarian rule,” states a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

A pro-democracy political party defeated the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and also easily bested other parties that represented various ethnic groups. “Holding a peaceful, orderly vote in a context of little experience of electoral democracy, deep political fissures and ongoing armed conflict in several areas was a major achievement for all political actors, the election commission and the country as a whole,” stated the ICG report, entitled The Myanmar Elections: Results and Implications. (Courtesy of thewhig.com)