Greater Mekong Subregion

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ADB's Role in Regional Cooperation

ADB is mandated to promote regional cooperation by its Charter, which provides that ADB should give priority to regional, subregional, and national programs and projects that contribute most effectively to the harmonious economic growth of the region.

ADB's Long-Term Strategic Framework for 2001-2015 identifies support to regional cooperation and integration for development as one of three cross-cutting themes that will both broaden and deepen the core areas of ADB's intervention.

Specifically, ADB's support to regional cooperation and integration for development reflects the need to

• support the development of ADB's developing member countries through cooperation
• provide wider development options through greater access to resources and markets
• address shared problems that stretch across borders
• take advantage of opportunities for sharing knowledge and information.

ADB supports a number of broad-based regional and subregional cooperation initiatives to accelerate the development of participating countries, of which the Greater Mekong Subregion initiative is the most prominent example. ADB has also led regional cooperation efforts in South Asia and Central Asian Republics. As a key priority in enhancing the development options in the region, ADB will continue its support for subregional cooperation and economic integration; in fact, such support must increase in importance over the next 15 years, given the dynamics of regional and global integration.

ADB’s reorganization in January 2002, provides its member countries with a “one window” departmental structure, wherein a single, integrated department covered the Bank operations in a particular group of geographically contiguous countries. This structure enables ADB to focus on abovementioned subregional initiatives to consider thoroughly the regional cooperation dimension in assessing development needs and providing assistance.

In May 2006, ADB adopted its Medium Term Strategy II (MTS ii), and one of its strategic priorities is to mainstream support for RCI as a regional level platform to reinforce country level efforts to reduce poverty and cross-country disparities. The ADB Board also recently approved ADB’s Strategy for RCI, whose main objective is to guide ADB’s support for the ongoing process of RCI in a coherent way as well as be prepared to facilitate new forms of RCI initiatives that may be needed in the future.

ADB'S Role in the GMS Program

ADB plays a multifaceted role in the GMS Program.

• As a financier, ADB has been extending loan and technical assistance to GMS countries for the implementation of priority subregional projects.
• As secretariat and coordinator of the GMS Program, ADB facilitates continuing subregional dialogue at both the political and operational levels, and among the key stakeholders of the GMS Program.
• ADB also provides technical and advisory support for many activities under the GMS Program.
• Very importantly, ADB plays the role of a catalist and an "honest broker" by bringing together the different participants in the Program, and helps them to reach consensus on key issues.

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