"The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of the Union of Myanmar today held a wide-ranging dialogue aimed at boosting the country?s agricultural sector and to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia. At the invitation of ESCAP, Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz and other eminent experts discussed strategies for Myanmar to cut poverty in light of Asia?s regional and subregional experiences. ?It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership,” UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said at the event held in Myanmar?s capital, Naypyitaw. ?These development objectives can only be achieved through the successful engagement of local experts and people who know what is happening on the ground. This development partnership, requested by the Government of Myanmar, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government agencies and civil society,” Dr. Heyzer added..."