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International Donors Pledge Massive Funding for Burma

13-Jun-12http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/6691

Burma is set to see a dramatic rise in the amount of international aid it receives, after agroup representing several Western governments and multilateral agencies pledged onTuesday to provide hundreds of millions of dollars for projects in the country.

At a meeting with President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, the Peace Donor Support Group(PDSG)representing the governments of Norway, the UK and Australia, as well as theEuropean Union, the United Nations and the World Bankoffered a total of nearly US$500 million to support peace-building and other projects.

According to the presidents office website, the bulk of the funding will come from theUK and the EU, which will give $300 million and 150 million euros ($187 million),

respectively.

In addition to this, Australia has already given $5 million to support health-careprograms, the website said. This is just part of an $80 million aid package announced byAustralian Foreign Minister Bob Carr last week. The UN will also donate $5 million forpeace funding.

No figure was mentioned for Norway on the website, but the country was acknowledgedfor its role in founding the PDSG.

Tuesdays meeting was also attended by Railways Minister Aung Min, who has served as

a key negotiator in talks between the government and ethnic armed groups and wasrecently named deputy chairman of the Union-Level Peace Team.

Of the $300 million that the UK will give over the next three years, $5 million has beenearmarked to support current ongoing democratic reforms in Burma, according to thewebsite.

The EUs funding will be disbursed this year and next, and will include 3-4 million euros($3.75-5 million) to be spent on landmine education programs in Burma.

Apart from the funding pledged by donors, Burma will also be eligible to receive low-

interest loans of up to $300 million annually from the World Bank, according to thePresidents Office.

On the website, the government also expressed its expectation that the EU, like Australiaand Norway, will in the near future drop all economic sanctions against Burma.

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The PDSG was established by the Norwegian government to provide financial, technicaland idealistic support for government-led political reforms and peace building inBurma, the website said.

The group will also facilitate the governments efforts to systematically manage all

international donations, it added.

Since taking office last year, Thein Seins government has reached ceasefire agreementswith 10 out of 11 ethnic armed groups. At the same time, however, a conflict with theKachin Independence Army has raged for more than a year, with no end in sight.