The Faculty of Economics provided an overseas training program titled “ECBO project (Myanmar and Laos): exploring the sites of economic development and growth” from February 19 to March 1, 2019. Through this program, the students of the faculty visited Myanmar and Laos to have exchanges with people of local universities and companies.

Both Myanmar and Laos have achieved substantial growth with an economic growth rate of a little less than seven percent per year (2017, IMF data). International capital has been rapidly flowing into the countries from overseas including Japan. While the cities are lively and vibrant, the living environment still needs to be improved. In addition, economic disparity is increasing.

Through the program, the students learned about sustainable economic development, a theme that is associated with many targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Targets 1, 9, 10, and 17), observing the support provided by Japanese government agencies and activities carried out locally by private companies. They also enjoyed an exchange with local university students, introducing Okayama University to them and dancing together.

In Myanmar, the students learned about the current economic situation of Myanmar at Yangon University of Economics. They also visited local subsidiaries of Japanese companies, Foster Electric Co., Ltd. and Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd., located in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, where many Japanese companies have established bases. While visiting Laos, they provided a seminar at National University of Laos thanks to the cooperation of Mr. Motoyoshi Suzuki, Executive Adviser to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Lao PDR. Furthermore, they visited the Japanese Embassy, JICA office, local subsidiaries of Ryobi Systems Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, and Wattay International Airport, enjoying opportunities to learn and exchange.