Jin Liqun, the president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, was in Washington, D.C., this week, on a myth-busting mission, aiming to set the record straight about his institution. The leader of the newest multilateral development bank sought to debunk what he said were misconceptions about the bank’s priorities, operations and politics.
Category: Interview
Green growth: not as expensive as you think
A green economy does not mean a major trade-off between growth and sustainability, Tomaso Andreatta, chairman of EuroCham Green Growth Sector Committee insists.
Implementation is key: ADB Vice President
Myanmar has tremendous potential for development and the government is on the right track. These are the comments of Stephen Groff, Asian Development Bank’s vice president for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Source of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze rivers drying up
National park could help save the headwaters of the Tibetan plateau that are evaporating because of climate change, says Chinese geologist Yang Yong
MRC CEO: “Hydropower development will not kill the Mekong River”
“Hydropower development does not kill the Mekong river.” Those words are what Mr Pham Tuan Phan, MRC’s CEO, said to media on the sidelines of a stakeholder forum for the Pak Beng hydropower project . A freelance correspondent for The Mekong Eye interviewed Mr. Pham.
Official speaks out against coal power
If the people say “no” to coal, so do we, say government officials. In an interview with The Myanmar Times this week, a deputy permanent secretary of the Electricity and Energy Department has confirmed that the government has no plans to pursue coal-based energy.
Recognizing environmentalists under threat
It is well documented that our planet, along with its biodiversity and life-sustaining resources, is severely threatened. Lesser known is that some of the bravest among us, our environmental defenders, are putting their lives on the line on a daily basis. According to Global Witness, hundreds of activists, indigenous leaders, and environmental journalists have been killed in the past five years. Still more have faced intimidation, legal threats, and brutal violence over their efforts to protect the planet and its resources.
To Fix the Mekong, Just Look at the Evidence: Q&A With Dr. John Ward
Dr. John Ward is a research scientist at the Mekong Region Futures Institute specializing in integrated natural resource management. He spoke with VOA’s Neou Vannarin about the future of the Mekong, the effects of climate change, hydropower development, and the impact on the environment and people of the region.
Thilawa Zone B to start in November
Development of the second stage of the country’s first economic zone will begin with infrastructure including roads, electricity and water, said U Myint Zaw, general manager of Myanmar Japan Thilawa Development Limited.
“We will implement Zone B in phases. Once one phase is complete, we will start on the next one,” he said.
Meanwhile the smaller Zone A is around 90 percent complete, with US$760 million in foreign investment committed to the project across 400 hectares of land. The project is located to the south of Yangon.
Tenasserim Chief Minister Lei Lei Maw: ‘We Will Rebuild Our Country’
Lei Lei Maw, a sitting lawmaker in the regional legislature for Tenasserim Division, was appointed chief minister of the division on Monday, becoming one of Burma’s first females to hold the position.
Burma’s state and divisional parliaments this week announced the incoming regional heads, appointed by President-elect Htin Kyaw, and the list included two women—Lei Lei Maw and Karen State’s Nang Khin Htwe Myint. Despite pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s prominence in Burma, women have been largely excluded from top political posts in her incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) government.
Lei Lei Maw, 51, is a medical doctor who joined the NLD in 2012 and ran in the November 2015 general election, representing Thayetchaung constituency. The ethnic Karen-Burman, Christian, and mother of four has run a private clinic for more than 20 years and has delivered free health care in remote villages.
She will succeed the Union Solidarity and Development Party’s (USDP) Myat Ko, who sought re-election in 2015 but was defeated. The ceremonial transfer of power will occur on Wednesday night in Naypyidaw.
The Irrawaddy spoke with Lei Lei Maw following her parliamentary appointment on Monday.