On 13th March 2020 in Nay Pyi Taw, the capital of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Myanmar, Walter Zucconi, together with the Ambassador of Italy Alessandra Schiavo, attended the 5th and last meeting of the Management Committee of the Debt Swap Initiative, worth approximately USD 3.1 million (2.9 million euros). The initiative is pledged to finance projects and programs promoting social and economic development. On this occasion, the Management Committee officially closed the initiative.
This Debt Swap Initiative originated from the relief of the outstanding Official Development Assistance (ODA) debt owed by Myanmar to the Government of Italy, agreed upon by the countries with the signature of the debt restructuring agreements in March 2013.
The debt swap funds were entirely conferred to the National Community Driven Development Project (NCDDP), a nation-wide government led program that has been active since 2013. NCDDP is mainly aimed at fostering development in rural areas through the construction of small infrastructure based on the community’s self-identified needs. Italy has supported the NCDDP since 2014 via a 20 million euros soft loan. Later in 2016 Italy decided to augment its participation to the program earmarking the debt swap funds for this purpose.
The overall Italian financial support to NCDDP has granted the Italian Cooperation a leading position among the bilateral donors to the national project.
Thanks to the Debt Swap funds, essential infrastructure like roads, schools and public buildings, water distribution systems and public lighting were built in the most remote and inaccessible rural areas of Chin State, involving around 96,000 beneficiaries and reaching important levels of participation and satisfaction among the communities.
“This important contribution provided by the Debt Swap funds to the success of the wider initiative (NCDDP), which is part of the overall Italian support to Rural Development & Social Inclusion, is also a result of stronger partnership established with Myanmar institutions during the implementation of the initiative,” stated AICS Yangon Director Walter Zucconi. Speaking about the significant changes that have occurred within the management of the Official Development Assistance policies in Myanmar, which combine the shared mission to pursue the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, he added:“ The need to review the overall cooperation framework of the Italian Government in the country could be considered. This also required in order to improve AICS alignment with the Sustainable Development Plan of Myanmar (MSDP), founded on a multi-year planning mechanism discussed and agreed between the Parties, aimed at optimizing the impact of the initiatives through results-oriented management.”