Greater Mekong Subregion

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Cambodia joins Cross-Border Accord (November 2001)

Cambodia became the latest signatory to the Agreement for Facilitating the Cross-Border Movement of Goods and People (Cross Border Agreement) that was originally signed by Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam on 26 November 1999 in Vientiane.

As authorized by Cambodian Prime Minister, H.E. Hun Sen, H.E. Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, signed the Instrument of Accession during the 10th Ministerial Conference in Yangon on 29 November 2001. Prior to this, Ministers from Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam signed an amendment to the Cross-Border Agreement that allows other GMS countries to become party to the Agreement, and facilitates the ratification and approval process in each signatory country of the Agreement and its implementing annexes and protocols.

By 2005, the rehabilitation of most priority GMS transport corridors, e.g., Bangkok-Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh City-Vung Tau highway and the Thailand-Lao PDR-Viet Nam East-West Transport Corridor, would have been completed. With the anticipated GMS-wide implementation of the cross-border accord by 2005, the freer movement of goods and people along these improved corridors would greatly facilitate economic interaction between and among the riparian countries.

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Four-party Meeting Draws Up Implementation Plan for North-South Corridor (November 2001)

Senior transport, finance, and foreign affairs officials from the PRC, Lao PDR, Thailand, and ADB representatives met in Bangkok last 14 November 2001 to discuss implementation arrangements for the Chiang Rai-Kunming via Lao PDR Road Improvement Project, also known as the North-South Corridor. The key missing link of this Corridor is the section from Boten to Houei Sai in Lao PDR territory, which is known as R3. This meeting follows the successful conclusion on 5 November 2001 of the mediation process between the Government of Lao PDR and Business Siam, Co., Ltd., which will bring back the ownership of the R3 Project to the Lao Government. It will be recalled that an ADB-financed feasibility study of the Corridor was completed in 1998. Implementation of the R3 Project, which was supposed to be undertaken by a public-private concession, was suspended due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The four parties agreed during the meeting to adopt the existing alignment, except for the Luang Namtha bypass section, for the R3 Project due largely to environmental and social considerations. It was also agreed to use a mix of class II and III of the ASEAN highway standards for the Corridor. Representatives of PRC and Thailand confirmed that their respective Governments would provide loan assistance to Lao PDR for the development of R3 under favorable terms. "For its part, ADB, which has always been a lender of last resort, has included in its lending pipeline to Lao PDR for 2002 a tentative amount of $20 million from the concessional ADF resources to help implement the R3 Project," says ADB representative and Deputy Director of ADB's Infrastructure, Energy, and Financial Sector Department (West), Mr. Preben Nielsen.

ADB will provide technical assistance (TA) to Lao PDR to update the feasibility study of R3, and conduct environmental, resettlement, and social impact assessment. The TA is scheduled to commence in December 2001, and is expected to be completed in mid-2002. Design/construction issues as well as financing arrangements related to the R3 Project will be considered during the course of the TA implementation.

For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org

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Subregional Transport Forum Eases Process of Reaching Cross-Border Agreements in the GMS (May 2001)

The Sixth Meeting of Subregional Transport Forum (STF-6) for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 17 to 18 May 2001. Among its major outcomes was an agreement that will facilitate the accession by all GMS countries to the Framework for Facilitating the Cross-Border Movement of Goods and People in the GMS. So far, only Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam are signatories to this Agreement. The aim of the GMS countries is for all six GMS countries to be signatories to the Framework Agreement by the end of 2001.

A draft amendment to the existing Trilateral Cross-Border Agreement Between and Among Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam was agreed upon by the STF-6 that will: (1) facilitate the ratification of the three signatory countries of the Trilateral Agreement, (2) open the agreement for accession by other GMS countries, and (3) facilitate the accession by other GMS countries to the Cross-Border Agreement. STF-6 agreed that each participating country would complete the necessary internal preparations to ensure the signing of the Amendment and Cambodia's accession during the 10th GMS Ministerial Conference tentatively scheduled in the third quarter of 2001.

The proposed amendment is also especially significant since it would facilitate the ratification and entry into force of the Cross-Border Agreement Thailand, for example, has not yet ratified the Agreement since it is awaiting the agreements on annexes and protocols.) The proposed amendment will separate the process of signing, ratification, and entry into force of the Agreement from the process of signing, ratification, and entry into force of the annexes and protocols.

The objectives of STF-6 were to maintain the momentum of cooperation in the transport sector in the GMS, advance specific subregional initiatives in the transport sector; and reinforce as well as focus the subregional consultative process.

For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org

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