A farmer leads his cattle to the fields in the Ayeyarwady delta.

THE chairman of the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), U Kyaw Thu, has called for strengthening cooperation between the government and the international community in implementing plans for the post-Nargis recovery.

U Kyaw Thu was speaking at a Cooperation and Way Forward for PONREPP Implementation workshop in Yangon on May 22. PONREPP is the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan. The TCG is the umbrella body responsible for coordination among the government, United Nations agencies and NGOs working on Nargis relief operations.

About 130 participants attended the workshop, including Myanmar government officials, representatives from ASEAN countries, diplomats, and humani-tarian organisations. The meeting emphasised the need for cooperation in the implementation of the joint three-year plan, which was launched in Bangkok in February.

“We aim at developing a common understanding of [the plan’s] implementation arrangements and how it relates to the government’s reconstruction plan,” said U Kyaw Thu.

The TCG chairman also stated his intention to identify new ways of promoting cooperation between the government and international community recovery efforts and to build greater transparency and accountability in the implementation.

Recalling the experience of the Indian Ocean tsunami, the special envoy of the ASEAN secretary general for Post-Nargis recovery in Myanmar, Dr William Sabandar, said: “It is important for us to set up an implementation arrange-ment for PONREPP that ensures accountability and transparency in the planning and execution of the international donor program.”

PONREPP provides an overview of the recovery efforts required in various sectors such as health, agriculture, water and sanitation.

Mr Bishow Parajuli, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, stressed the importance of the mutual understanding of needs and efficient coordination between actors on the ground to ensure that all 2.4 million cyclone victims got the support they need.

The British ambassador to Myanmar, Mr Mark Canning, noting that Myanmar had received very little humanitarian support from individuals, said the UK, which had contributed significantly to the response to the cyclone, wanted to see more donors working in Myanmar.

“We have witnessed no evidence of misuse of international community funding for the Nargis response,” he said.

According to PONREPP, the recovery process, which will cover the period from January 2009 through December 2011, requires US$691 million.