A Work in Progress
ADB Review [ December 2004 ]
Since 1992, the Greater Mekong Subregion Program has promoted
closer economic ties and cooperation among the countries sharing
the Mekong River. Stakeholders and development partners will meet
again in December to take stock of its progress
By Ian Gill, (igill@adb.org)
Principal External Relations Specialist
The 13th Ministerial Conference of the Greater Mekong Subregion
Economic Cooperation Program (GMS Program) is being held at Vientiane,
in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), from 14 to 16
December 2004.
The GMS includes Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR,
Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Those attending the conference will include delegations from GMS
countries, representatives of development partners, including the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), and international observers.
The main themes of the Development Partners meeting on 15 December will be strengthening the convergence of strategies and programs of the
partners for GMS development; identifying a structured approach
to build capacity in the GMS; and promoting greater
private sector participation in the region.
The meeting of ministers the following day will review progress
of subregional cooperation and examine future program endeavors and preparation for the next GMS Summit.
This will include a dialogue between the ministers and development partners. The ministers will hold
a discussion with development partners. The conference will end
with a joint ministerial statement.
Top
SCREEN SKILLS
Women like Manohay, many from poor backgrounds, are acquiring
tourism expertise at Hue Tourism School.
Participants will be shown an ADB video documentary, Transcending
Borders, which looks at the impact of the East-West Economic
Corridor and at how GMS countries are addressing the social and
related challenges inevitably associated with the development of
the region, such as HIV/AIDS.
The GMS Program began in 1992 as an ADB initiative to promote closer
economic ties and cooperation among the countries sharing the Mekong
River.
Covering 2.3 million square kilometers, or the size of western
Europe, the GMS is home to more than 250 million people. Its wealth
of human and natural resources makes it a new frontier for economic
growth in Asia.
At the start of the GMS Program, relations between the countries
were still strained, and trade and other forms of intercountry economic
activity were limited.
Peace, however, provided the countries an opportunity to draw closer
together through a program of subregional economic cooperation.
Progress was such that, by the first GMS Summit in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia, in 2002, leaders of the GMS countries endorsed the GMS
Strategic Framework and the 11 flagship programs to achieve the
GMS development vision of enhancing connectivity, increasing competitiveness,
and promoting a sense of community in the region.
These are the North-South Economic Corridor, East-West Economic
Corridor, Southern Economic Corridor, Telecommunications Backbone,
Regional Power Interconnection and Trading Arrangements, Facilitating
Cross Border Trade and Investment, Enhancing Private Sector Participation
and Competitiveness, Developing Human Resources and Skills Competencies,
Strategic Environment Framework, Flood Control and Water Resource
Management, and GMS Tourism Development.
This issue of ADB Review looks at the growing impact of
the most advanced of these projects—the East-West Economic Corridor.
It also looks at how countries are addressing the challenges associated
with greater connectivity. A feature on the Phnom Penh Plan for
Development Management shows how targeted capacity building is working.
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