Myanmar can count on UN support to face challenges ahead, says envoy

The United Nations will continue to assist the people of Myanmar to address the various challenges facing the country, a senior official said today.

Vijay Nambiar, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar, was among those attending a high-level meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar which discussed recent developments and the overall reform process in the country.

“We have taken note of the progress made by the Government of Myanmar,” Mr. Nambiar told reporters after the meeting, which was held on the margins of the high-level debate of the General Assembly’s 67th session.

“We hope it will continue and result in the strengthening democratic institutions and forging peace with all ethnic and religious groups in the country.

“The United Nations will continue to do its part to help the people of Myanmar to address the political, humanitarian and developmental challenges facing their country.”

Myanmar has been undergoing a series of democratic reforms, led by President Thein Sein. They include by-elections held earlier this year for the parliament, to which Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who was released from nearly two decades of house arrest in November 2010, was elected. A second wave of reforms was announced in June.

Addressing the Assembly’s General Debate yesterday, Mr. Sein said that while Myanmar is making progress in its democratic transition, it faces a number of formidable challenges that will require both the continued support and patience of its people, the UN and the wider international community.