President Obama met today in Naypyitaw, the capital of Burma, also known as Myanmar, with 13 members of parliament (MPs) from various parties and both houses to discuss the country’s democratic progress. The meeting was hosted by NDI’s Parliamentary Resource Center, which is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Among the MPs meeting with President Obama were Thura U Shwe Mann, speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union parliament), and U Khin Aung Myint, speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house), both of whom represent the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The meeting also included Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, chair of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), and other MPs from USDP, NLD, Chin Progressive Party (CPP), Shan National Democratic Party (SNDP) and the All Mon Democratic Party (AMDP).

The meeting lasted for more than an hour and included a wide ranging discussion of the country’s democratic reform process, the capacity needs of the parliament, and ways in which the international community could more effectively encourage democratic reform through the legislature.

In his closing remarks to the press, President Obama said, “I want to thank the National Democratic Institute, NDI, as well as the work that we’re doing through USAID to try to provide some of the technical skills and resources necessary for what is a new experience for many people -- and that is, running a democratic process and having a parliament.

NDI is providing technical support to the parliament and assisting civil society organizations to conduct a citizen observation of the expected 2015 national election process.

In addition to USAID, NDI receives support for its work in the country from the National Endowment for Democracy and the United Kingdom Department for International Development.

Published Nov. 13, 2014