By Prashanth Parameswaran
This week, several media outlets reported that Myanmar had hired the Podesta Group, a powerful US lobbying firm, to represent its interests in Washington.
Connections between governments and other influential actors in Washington are far from unique to Myanmar. And speculations about links between the Myanmar government and the Podesta Group – a firm founded by Tony and John Podesta, with the latter serving as chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, senior adviser to President Barack Obama, and now campaign chairman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run – have been circulating for a while now. Last May, the connection made headlines when officials from the firm attended a meeting in the Rakhine State capital of Sittwe.
But the recent wave of attention largely stems from the April 10 disclosure filed by the Podesta Group with the Justice Department saying the firm will be paid $840,000 a year. The ‘activities’ the firm will perform are described in the disclosure as providing “strategic counsel to the principal on strengthening the principal’s ties to the United States government and institutions,” as well as to “assist in communicating priority issues in the United States-Myanmar bilateral relationship to relevant U.S audiences, including the U.S. Congress, executive branch, media, and policy community.” The Hill reports that this is the first time Myanmar has hired lobbyists in Washington for more than a decade.
Read the full story at The Diplomat