Despite reports that some of the members of the Burmese military junta had stashed millions of dollars for their own interests, the country is reeling under pressures to repay its outstanding loans to the World Bank which it failed to comply until today.
With the country now needing massive reconstruction efforts after the cyclone destroyed most of Burma, there are doubts that these could not be accomplished because the World Bank doesn’t trust the military regime at this time.
However, the Asian Development Bank has considered extending loan assistance to the military junta, after the ADB is able to conduct its own evaluation as to the extent of damage wrought by the cyclone on Burma, particularly in the Irrawaddy delta region where most of the destruction occurred.
It was in 1952 when Burma became a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Then in 1956, it was affiliated with the International Financial Corporation (IFC). After this, it became a member of the International Development Association (IDA) in 1962, and the ADB in 1973.
The World Bank has not made any loans to Burma since July 1987. And it has not been in non-accrual status with the Bank since 1998. "The IMF performs its mandated annual Article IV consultations, but there are no IMF assistance programs. The ADB has not extended loans to Burma since 1986. Bilateral technical assistance ended in 1988. Burma has not serviced its ADB loans since January 1998. Burma’s total foreign debt now stands at over $7 billion," the website said.
According to the GeographyIQ.com website, foreign loan assistance to Burma has diminished owing to the military regime’s suppression of democracy movement in 1988. In fact, the official development assistance (ODA) to Burma totaled US$121.1 million in 2004, or roughly $2 per capita compared with $47 per capita in Laos and $35 per capita in Cambodia. Because of its undemocratic system of government, it only gets technical assistance from Asia, limited humanitarian aid and debt relief from Japan and China. It also gets concessional loans from neighboring China and India.
As an ADB member, Burma is involved in its Program of Economic Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. It also participates in regional meetings and workshops supported by the ADB. Burma joined ASEAN in 1997. As a bonafide member of ASEAN and one of the least developed members, it has an extra five years (until 2008) to comply with most of ASEAN Free Trade Agreement’s liberalization requirements. Burma also is a member of the World Trade Organization.