Myanmar embraces trade facilitation with ADB help

Launched last week with support from the Asian Development Bank, all stakeholders in the trade supply chain are invited to raise, discuss and resolve the problems that traders are facing.
Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said this will be the principal forum.
It could raise awareness of how Myanmar’s import, export and transit processes actually work, and tackle problems with duplication, delays and bottlenecks.
The initiative can help Myanmar meet the World Trade Organisation’s trade facilitation standards.
“This working group will help make it easier for businesses to move their goods to and from our country and encourage international players to invest here,” he said.
The working group is open to all public and private sector stakeholders in Myanmar, and will be chaired by the chamber. It will work with 22 import, export and transit regimes in the country.
There will be monthly meetings for stakeholders in the international supply chain – importers, exporters, freight forwarders, brokers and government departments such as customs and the commerce ministry – to identify issues and find ways to resolve the problems in the supply chain.
Chris Page, team leader of the project, said on the side-lines of the launch event that the initiative should ensure more profits for investors and better prices for Myanmar customers.
“The idea is basically that these stakeholders will get together regularly here at the chamber and discuss together what causes the problems, how they can solve the problems themselves and what needs to be done with the support of the government and other stakeholders like the banking industry.
“Collectively, they will come up with the solutions that will make it easier for people to move their goods in and out of this country,” he said.
The first meeting of the working group was held on Tuesday, soon after the launch.
“We expect the working group to meet every month.
“Every month, they should come up with a list of actions that need to be taken, and they will be responsible for doing something about that.
“So it will be action-oriented, not just talking,” he said.
Discussions with ministries would be carried out, as their support is necessary to clear obstacles that the private stakeholders cannot solve.
The initiative was launched after seminars in four major cities – Yangon, Tachileik, Myawaddy and Muse.
ADB has also trained a group of facilitators from both the public and private sectors. More than 500 stakeholders have attended its training sessions.
Page said the programme attracted overwhelming interest.
He said the initiative is part of the ADB project he manages, which is worth US$1.5 million (Bt52 million).
He did not talk about the project’s timeframe, as all the local teams need modernisation.
He does not see any problem in project implementation, but expects more discussions with government officials in the months to come, particularly on how to cut through the red tape.
“It will continue as long as it takes. We do not want to put a time limit on when it will finish…I guess this working group will continue for some time in the future.”