Can a nation once intentionally isolated from the world be rebuilt from the outside in?
After decades of isolation, Myanmar has an extraordinary amount of work to do on every imaginable front. The country needs access to billions of dollars to bring modern irrigation systems to rural farmers,...

Reflecting on this year's successful Pacific Forum Leaders' Summit in the idyllic island paradise of the Cook Islands, one might ask if we are witnessing a renaissance in this long-overlooked region.

The presence of leaders from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Pacific Islands and senior officials from...

Just last month I made my first visit to Myanmar, a place Rudyard Kipling referred to as "quite unlike any land you know about." While decades of isolation have helped this century-old observation hold true, on arrival in July I was immediately struck by the vibrancy and a...

Myanmar's prolonged isolation and economic stagnation left a mark on almost every sector the country needs to prosper -- from energy and transport to agriculture, education and health. So where to begin?

Assessments currently being carried out on the ground by the Asian Development Bank show there is much to...

Asia's rapid rise, considered by many to be the most successful story of economic development in recent history, has seen national economies expand at an unprecedented pace and human conditions dramatically improve.

Years before the Millennium Development Goal deadline of 2015, the region has already achieved targets for reducing...

Over the past decade the Asia-Pacific region has made incredible progress towards achieving universal or near universal energy access for vast numbers of people. China, Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia, and Bhutan are but a few examples.

Yet despite this progress, about 700 million people in the region still have...

Asia's newest nation celebrated its 10th birthday this month: May 20 in Timor-Leste was a celebration of freedom that also deserved to be a celebration of development. After centuries of foreign rule, Timor-Leste has readied itself to be a full partner in what is shaping up as Asia's century.

Nation-building...

The international community is coming together to help Myanmar improve the lives of its 60 million citizens -- one-third of whom are mired in poverty. The challenges are daunting. And with Myanmar's strategic location at the crossroads of trade between India, the People's Republic of China and Southeast Asian nations,...

Many have dubbed this the 'Asian Century' with Asia's robust economies leading us to believe that all is well in a region that has generated some of the fastest growth and poverty reduction in history.

"Factory Asia's" growth has been underpinned in great part by its exports to Europe...

As Europe and America continue to reel in the wake of the global economic downturn, questions are increasingly being raised about the need for -- and value of -- foreign aid. US presidential hopefuls and other skeptics are asking: Is aid worth it? Does it make a positive difference in...

Last month, al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab militants withdrew from Mogadishu. While al-Shabaab claims the retreat was merely tactical, many hope that it represents a critical setback for an insurgency that has held the country hostage for four years.

The withdrawal provides momentum for the much-criticized peacekeeping efforts in the country and, despite...

In a time of fiscal consolidation and threats of serious cuts to aid budgets, it is critical that we pay careful attention to what we know works in development cooperation. Evidence from a numerous countries, including Korea, Brazil and China, shows that openness to trade is a key ingredient for...

Fifty years ago today, in the Rose Garden of the White House, President John F. Kennedy addressed the very first group of Peace Corps volunteers who were departing for service in Ghana and Tanzania. Twenty-five years later, I flew to San Francisco to join nearly 300 others bound for service...

As the international community gathers tomorrow in Rome to discuss the emergency in the Horn of Africa, it is important to recognize the commitment of the UN system, NGOs and donors to coordinated humanitarian action in the region. OECD donors alone have already directly committed $1.49 billion to the region...

Few will argue that we need to mobilize funds to support developing countries in dealing with the effects of climate change. At COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico, world leaders agreed to a set of "new and additional" pledges amounting to $30 billion in Fast Start Finance between 2010...

What do an artisanal miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo, computer companies, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris have in common? They all have a keen interest in ensuring that mining in Africa does not fuel conflict.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary...