Greater Mekong Subregion

	Table of Contents
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Facilitating Cross-Border Trade and Investment

Objectives

The flagship program on facilitating cross-border trade and investment aims to: (i) promote the competitiveness of the subregion by facilitating cross-border trade and investment in the GMS, (ii) implement measures to facilitate trade, initially focusing on customs procedures, followed by the upgrading of standards framework, the development of trade finance, integration of freight forwarding and the introduction of electronic data interchange (EDI), (iii) overcome existing inadequacies in information on trade and investment to stimulate business expansion in GMS border areas, and (iv) support small and medium enterprises and make them competitive in global markets. These objectives are closely linked with those of enhancing private sector participation and competitiveness.

Read the executive summary. [ PDF: 4 pages | 190kb ]

Participating Governments

All GMS countries

Programs and Projects

1. Development and maintenance of a cross-border trade and investment information system;
2. Development of products and services to support SMEs;
3. Trade and customs facilitation, initially focusing on single-stop and single- window inspection and expanding to modern border management systems;
4. Standards framework upgrading;
5. Facilitation of cross-border movement of goods and peoples in the GMS
6. Development and integration of freight forwarding;
7. Industrial development;
8. Coordination of policies and regulation on trade-related financial and insurance services;
9. Development of market information networks to facilitate trade linkages (including market access mechanisms, export promotion programs, access to international trading companies); and
10. Development of e-commerce systems to improve the integration of the trade transaction process (between sellers, shippers, bankers and purchasers).

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