National Workshop on Helping Myanmar Graduate Smartly from Least Developed Country Status

The UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP), in its 2018 review of the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), found Myanmar pre-eligible for graduation from LDC status, with an outstanding performance above the graduation thresholds relevant to all LDC criteria.

Objective

The Nay Pyi Taw workshop aims to promote awareness, among Myanmar’s policy makers, of the key implications of the anticipated change of country status by the end of 2024. Some 50 participants are expected to examine the structural progress made by Myanmar under the LDC criteria, and the economic, social and environmental challenges analyzed by UNCTAD in its Vulnerability Profile of Myanmar.

The workshop will also debate the links between Myanmar’s quest for a sound graduation process and its overall national development strategy. Also high on the agenda of the one-day event are the questions of: (i) the anticipated impact of the loss of LDC benefits in the light of the learning experience of other LDC graduates, and (ii) the national plea for a smooth transition to post-LDC status. More important than the graduation milestone, from UNCTAD’s viewpoint, is Myanmar’s goal of remaining on a path of steady structural economic progress toward and beyond graduation.