The Myanmar Conference @ CSIS
CSIS recruited a world-class group of experts to kick off the on-the-record dialogue around four key themes:
i. Political and Security Developments in Myanmar
ii. Trade, Investment, and Infrastructure
iii. Humanitarian Situation and Foreign Assistance
iv. Conclusions: Recommendations for U.S. Policy toward Myanmar
The conference was organized around the time of the visits of Myanmar President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to the United States in late September. There is great interest to explore the implications for U.S. policy in the wake of the political and economic reforms in Myanmar and the recent easing of U.S. sanctions ahead of the U.S. presidential and congressional elections in November.
Special thanks goes to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and CV Starr for making this event possible.
BIOGRAPHIES
Jim Webb presently serves as the senior Senator from Virginia and chairman of the East Asian & Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Senator Webb graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968, and received his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center in 1975. In 1984, he was appointed the inaugural Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. In 1987, he became the first Naval Academy graduate in history to serve in the military and then become Secretary of the Navy.
For more information, please visit Senator Webb’s official website.
Kurt Campbell became the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs in June 2009. Previously, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and concurrently served as the director of the Aspen Strategy Group and chairman of the Editorial Board of the Washington Quarterly. He was the founder of StratAsia, a strategic advisory firm, and was the senior vice president, director of the International Security Program, and Henry A. Kissinger Chair in National Security Policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
For more information, please visit Assistant Secretary Campbell’s profile on the U.S. Department of State’s website.
AGENDA
TUESDAY – SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
LOCATION:
B1 Conference Center
Center for Strategic and International Studies
1800 K St, NW
Washington, DC 20006
8:30 AM Registration of Participants
9:00 AM Welcoming remarks
Dr. John Hamre, President & CEO, CSIS
9:05 AM Opening address
Sen. Jim Webb, Chair, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
9:45 AM Political and Security Developments in Myanmar
Moderator: Christopher Johnson, Senior Adviser and Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS
David Steinberg, Georgetown University
Salai Ngun Cung Lian, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Economic and Social Development, Yangon, Myanmar
Tin Maung Maung Than, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
11:00 AM Trade, Investment, and Infrastructure
Moderator: Ernie Bower, Senior Adviser and Chair for Southeast Asia Sutdies, CSIS
Serge Pun, Chairman, Serge Pun & Associates
David Dapice, Tufts University; Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Shigehiro Tanaka, Japanese Representative to Senior Economic Officials Meeting for East Asia Summit, METI
Elizabeth Hernandez, Vice President, Government Affairs for Asia Pacific and Japan, Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific
12:00 PM Luncheon Keynote
The Hon. Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific
12:30 PM Break
1:30 PM Humanitarian Situation and Foreign Assistance
Moderator: Matthew Goodman, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, CSIS
Stephen Groff, Vice-President of Operations, Asian Development Bank
Christopher Herink, National Director, World Vision Myanmar
Thomas Dillon, Senior Vice President, World Wildlife Fund
Gregory Beck, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia, USAID
2:45 PM Conclusions: Recommendations for U.S. Policy toward Myanmar
Moderator: Murray Hiebert, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Chair for Southeast Asia Studies, CSIS
Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS
Christopher Johnson, Senior Adviser and Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS
Ernie Bower, Senior Adviser and Chair for Southeast Asia Studies, CSIS
4:00 PM Conference Closes
CSIS would like to recognize and thank the following sponsors of The Mynamar Conference @ CSIS:
The C.V. Starr Foundation
Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry of Japan (METI)
