In July 28-29, CLDP partnered with USAID and the World Bank to hold a high-level conference on government procurement in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney-General in Naypyidaw, Burma. The opening ceremony was attended by the Attorney-General and key ministers, including the Minister of Information, Communication and Technology and the Minister of Industry. Approximately one hundred high-level representatives from every ministry, state and regional attorney-general offices attended the conference, which focused on international best practices in government procurement. The conference was an important first step in the dissemination of best practices and awareness-raising among the different ministries, in recognition of President Thein Sein’s declaration last year that highlighted government procurement as a top development priority.

Following the conference, CLDP, USAID, and World Bank experts met with several ministries to discuss the development of procurement legislation and regulations that would harmonize procurement practices among the ministries. As Burma currently does not have an acting procurement authority to oversee implementation of procurement practices and hear bid protests, the purpose of these meetings was also to determine which Ministry should take the lead in developing and implementing the new law. Such a law will ensure an open and transparent bidding process, which will be key to the development of Burma’s infrastructure and economy. Based on feedback from the conference and these meetings, CLDP and USAID will develop a series of next steps for implementation of technical assistance.