he negotiation of an IMF standby agreement. Low
inflation and steady progress on structural reforms improved the
business environment; Bulgaria has averaged 5.1% growth since 2000
and has begun to attract significant amounts of foreign direct
investment. Corruption in the public administration, a weak
judiciary, and the presence of organized crime remain the largest
challenges for Bulgaria.

Burkina Faso
One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked
Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base.
About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture,
which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash
crop and the government has joined with three other cotton producing
countries in the region - Mali, Niger, and Chad - to lobby for
improved access to Western markets. GDP growth has largely been
driven by increases in world cotton prices. Industry remains
dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations.
Following the CFA franc currency devaluation in January 1994, the
government updated its development program in conjunction with
international agencies; exports and economic growth have increased.
The government devolved macroeconomic policy and inflation targeting
to the West African regional central bank (BCEAO), but maintains
control over fiscal and microeconomic policies, including
implementing reforms to encourage private investment. The bitter
internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire continues to hurt trade
and industrial prospects and deepens the need for international
assistance. Burkina Faso is eligible for a Millenium Challenge
Account grant, which would increase investment in the country's
human capital.

Burma
Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive
government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural
poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the
economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to
Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the
liberalization measures were rescinded. Lacking monetary or fiscal
stability, the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances
- including inflation, multiple official exchange rates that
overvalue the Burmese kyat, and a distorted interest rate regime.
Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to
suppress the democracy movement in 1