01 February 2012
Aung San Suu Kyi praised the work of DFID in Burma during a high-profile visit to a UK funded project on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people lined the route that she travelled, cheering, throwing flowers and holding up banners saying ‘Our Hero, Our Leader’. The visit – her first to see development work in the country since her release – was a real vote of confidence in DFID and a huge personal honour for our staff.
Speaking after her visit, on which she was accompanied by over 20 journalists and which made headline news in the country, ‘The Lady’ said she was pleased to see the progress that was being made in the villages she had visited and talked of the need to meet the basic needs such as water in the area as well as to empower communities to lead their own development.
We were able to show her how the work we are supporting through a multidonor livelihoods fund had improved basic infrastructure and provided community-managed credit and training to improve agricultural techniques. Building growth and raising incomes in the rural areas of Burma – where 70% or Burmese live and where agriculture still lags behind other countries in the region - is a key focus of our Operational Plan and was endorsed by Daw Suu this week.
The UK will provide £185 million of aid over the next four years making us the largest donor to Burma. Following the Secretary of State’s historic visit last November and the visit by the Foreign Secretary in January, the UK is responding in a number of ways to the remarkable changes in Burma over the past year. DFID and the FCO are together working on plans to build the rule of law, strengthen institutions of accountability such as Parliament and the media and support the emergence of a vibrant private sector on which Burma’s longer term development depends.
For further information please contact DFID Burma.
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