Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT)

The IMT-GT Subregional Cooperation Program

The IMT-GT currently consists of:

• 14 provinces in Southern Thailand (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Patthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Trang, Yala, Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, Phang Nga, Phuket)
• 8 states of Peninsular Malaysia (Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Perlis and Selangor)
• the island of Sumatera consisting of 10 provinces (Aceh, Bangka-Belitung, Bengkulu, Jambi, Lampung, North Sumatera, Riau, Riau Islands, South Sumatera, and West Sumatera)

The IMT-GT subregion is a classic growth triangle, characterized by many economic complementarities, geographical proximity, and close historical, cultural and linguistic ties.

Taking Stock. Much progress has been achieved in the IMT-GT since its inception in 1993. Aside from expanded geographical scope, it has witnessed the establishment of many partnerships and alliances, with the private sector at the forefront. People-to-people contact has increased, building trust and confidence and instilling a stronger sense of community in the subregion.

Noteworthy gains were achieved in the following areas:

• travel and tourism, with robust growth in the number of travelers within and from outside IMT-GT, the operation of more airlines, increase in frequency of flights to the subregion, operation of more hotels, and improvement in mobility of people in the subregion;
• sea transport, in which four new routes were opened;
• land transport, with the improvement in road linkages between Penang and Songkhla, and construction of Trans-Malaysia-Thailand Bridge;
• telecommunications, with construction of submarine fiber optic cable link between Malaysia and Sumatera;
• energy, with the conclusion of intercountry power sharing agreement between Malaysia and Thailand;
• trade and investment, with the development of border markets and barter trading within the subregion;
• human resource development, with the establishment of UNINET, a cooperative form of education, research and exchanges among research and training institutions in the IMT-GT

Challenges. Many of the constraints and issues faced by the subregion in its first 13 years remain. In addition, as the subregion becomes more global in its stance and economic endeavors, it will have to face difficult challenges such as:

• how to take full advantage of increasing globalization, and greater ASEAN and Asian economic integration;
• how to deal with the growing number of bilateral and regional trade deals, and competition posed by other countries such as PRC and India;
• how to accelerate implementation of liberalization, simplification and harmonization measures covering investments, trade in goods and services and mobility of labor;
• how to mobilize resources to finance infrastructure and logistical support;
• how to sustain momentum of cooperation in the face of security concerns and threats of infectious diseases

To address these challenges, it is necessary to have a clear and shared vision, coherent framework and strategy for action and cooperation, a realistic and pragmatic plan of action, and effective institutional mechanisms for implementing cooperative programs to achieve the IMT-GT's vision and goal.