16th GMS ministerial conference

About 200 delegates, including 150 from delegates from other GMS countries, development partners, private sector and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), attended the 16th Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference with the theme of “GMS in the Next Decade: New Frontiers of Cooperation” in Hanoi.

Started in 1992 by all six member countries of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) embarked on a programme of economic cooperation (GMS Programme) that aims to promote development through closer economic linkages. The programme, with support from the ADB and other donors, facilitates the implementation of high priority sub-regional projects in transport, energy, telecommunications, environment, human resource development, tourism, trade, private sector investment, and agriculture.

The GMS Programme created substantial benefits for the countries sharing the Mekong River. Opportunities and economic growth have increased and poverty has reduced by half. The strengthening of regional linkage, through the development of transport corridor, electric power connecting systems, telecommunications networks, and agreements on trade and transport are the key to regional social progress and economic growth.

Vietnamese Planning and Investment Minister Vo Hong Phuc said the process of GMS economic cooperation over the past years has achieved positive results, particularly transport, energy, environmental protection, agriculture, tourism, investment cooperation, trade and specially training human resources.

Three initial GMS corridors, called East – West Corridor, North – South Corridor, and Southern Corridor, are now almost complete. GMS countries are also pursuing regional transport network development with the inclusion of nine corridors, approved at the GMS Transport Sector Strategy (2006-2015).

GMS nations have also put forth measures to trade and transport support which focus on the Cross Border Transport Agreements, trade and investment support action programmes, Analysis of Cross Border Transport Agreement, Trade and Transport Facilitation measures, and trade and transport support action programmes.

At the conference, delegates also together discussed and adopted strategies, roadmaps and action plans, through which the cooperation tasks are defined in many priority fields and areas in GMS. The conference also reviewed and continued guiding the preparation of new long-term strategies, adopted measures to strengthen physical infrastructure, formalise cross border transaction and transport costs, improve business environment, ensure social security and protect environment.

At a post-meeting press conference, Minister Phuc said that the most striking results of the conference is that ministers of six GMS countries have put forth an action plan to improve regional transport and support trade to expand corridor economic development; oriented the construction of framework for new GMS strategies for the 2012-2020 period, and jointly solved urgent problems in many different domains of cooperation.

“The conference highly appreciates the results in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, human resource development and environment cooperation. It also provides a strategic framework for the next 10 years (from 2012 to 2022) to build measures to further promote cooperation among GMS countries, with special attention paid to infrastructure, climate change, economic crisis and other issues to ensure equal development in the region,” Phuc stressed.

Development partners reportedly wished to extend their supports for the GMS Programme in the forms of finance, policy, institution, capacity building, technical assistance, knowledge instrument, experience and knowledge sharing. – VCCI

Tags: Greater Mekong Subregion Ministerial Conference