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Regions and Countries Country Assistance Plans Document
Country Assistance Plans - Thailand
IV. Regional Cooperation121. Subregional cooperation has emerged as a key element in Thailand's development strategy and performance. At present, Thailand is a participant in two Bank-facilitated subregional cooperation programs: the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program of Economic Cooperation. As the economic powerhouse in the GMS, Thailand has been able to establish a strong mutuality of interests with its neighbors. Thailand is emerging both as a market for their produce and as a source of agricultural and other technology and capital. Thai investment in power production in Lao PDR for import into Thailand is an example of this potential. Subregional projects also contribute to balanced growth in Thailand’s lagging regions (North-Northeast Thailand in respect of the GMS and the South in respect of the IMT-GT). Tourism, transport and communications, and energy development are other areas with strong potential. HRD initiatives with neighbouring countries in non-commercial areas, such as health and the environment, illustrate other benefits from subregional cooperation. Successive governments in Thailand have endorsed subregional cooperation as a key element of the country's development strategy. Cabinet subcommittees coordinate these programs, chaired either by the Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. Thailand has also reached agreement with Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka (BIMST-EC) concerning the promotion of economic cooperation in this subregion. It is also playing a leading role in several GMS Working Groups, including the Trade Facilitation Working Group, the Investment Working Group, and the GMS Business Forum. 122. The aforementioned loan projects for Border Towns Urban Development (2001), North-Northeast Region Area Development (2002), Southern Region Area Development (2003) and Economic Corridors Development (2003), will be closely integrated with subregional activities, such as the promotion of cross border trade and transportation, and the development of East-West and North-South economic corridors. 123. Thailand is rapidly becoming an important development resource for the subregion. The Government is committed to enhancing its role in this regard and attaches considerable importance to the Neighboring Countries Economic Cooperation Fund (NECF), a concessional loan facility established in 1995 and administered by the Ministry of Finance, and the Thailand International Cooperation Program, established in 1991 and administered by Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation (DTEC), Office of the Prime Minister, as important policy instruments for furthering Thailand’s technical and economic relationships. These programs aim to strengthen social and economic cooperation between Thailand and its neighbors and facilitate the process of economic integration within the GMS. Priority is assigned to Thailand's neighbors in the GMS, including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam. Staff have initiated discussions with representatives of MOF and DTEC to encourage the greater involvement of Thai institutions in regional cooperation efforts, including technical assistance activities supported by the ADB. NECF and DTEC officials have expressed interest in possible advisory TA to support the institutional strengthening of these programs. The objective of the proposed ADTA in 2001, Thailand as A Development Resource, would be to strengthen Thailand’s capacities in this regard and to collaborate with NECF and DTEC on how to best mobilize and allocate available resources to serve the subregion.
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