On 16th of January 2020, a workshop namely VALUING WATER – A STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ON THE VALUE OF WATER was held by a joint initiative between the British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar and The Water Agency in Yangon.

The program aims to bring together public and private sector leadership to have a dialogue on the value of water in Myanmar. The program recognizes that water – “too much, too little, too polluted “- is increasingly becoming a strategic factor for companies in Myanmar in running and growing their businesses. As all businesses depend on and impact water in some way and pressures on the water in Myanmar increase and business continuity is challenged, it is critical for companies to understand what their business case for water is.

In this program, Mr. Gregor Van Essen – Managing director of The Water Agency introduced current and upcoming conditions of the Myanmar water sector under the three categories;

• Introduction: Water in Myanmar – Identification of (potential) Threats & Opportunities
• Introduction: The Business Case for Water – Discuss Benefits of Valuing Water for your Business
• Valuing Water: A strategic dialogue on the value of water in Myanmar – Discussion on Knowledge Gaps and Agenda 2020

After the talk, there was a discussion session between business companies in Myanmar. In that session, members of The British Chamber of Commerce and external audiences from different sectors discussed together with The Water Agency:

• What are the current threads and opportunities in Myanmar?
• How water is affecting them and their business(Impacts)?
• How do they respond to those challenges?
• Discussion on Knowledge gaps