Greater Mekong Subregion

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GMS Mid-Term Review Tackles Pressing Issues (May 2001)

At the threshold of its tenth year, the GMS Program underwent a thorough review by senior GMS officials of the six participating countries in a meeting held last 23-24 May 2001 in Bangkok, Thailand. The GMS Mid-Term Review cum Senior Officials Meeting (MTR-SOM) took stock of present progress and identified key operational issues to be able to accelerate the implementation of major projects and initiatives. The Meeting was intended to lay the groundwork for the Tenth GMS Ministerial Meeting which is being planned for the third quarter of this year.

The GMS countries affirmed the need for a more concerted effort in addressing the most pressing challenges currently faced by the Program. These are:

1. to facilitate greater subregional integration by around 2006 by completing the implementation of key transport corridors and the region-wide cross-border facilitation agreement; power transmission interconnection to pave the way for regional power market; and a telecommunications backbone network
2. the need for better risk management to attract private sector financing for public sector projects in the GMS
3. improvements in the existing GMS institutional mechanism to cope with new roles and demands of regional cooperation
4. a strategic approach to the mitigation of social and environmental consequences of subregional infrastructure development; and
5. better coordination with key agencies involved in the GMS.

In order to cope with these challenges, and to promote the long-term sustainability of the GMS Program, the countries agreed that on the need for a long-term strategic framework for the GMS to guide future cooperation initiatives, together with appropriate institutional mechanisms to help achieve the specific goals at the Program and sector levels. Once the long-term strategic framework has been formulated and adopted, this could serve as the basis for preparing the GMS regional public investment program.

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

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Workshop Finalizes Preinvestment Study for the GMS: East-West Economic Corridor (March 2001)

The Workshop on the Preinvestment Study for the Greater Mekong Subregion: East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 13 to 14 March 2001. The Workshop was hosted by the the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (the "ADB"). The objectives of the Workshop were to discuss the key findings of the Study, and establish priorities among the various proposed initiatives of the Study. The outcomes of the Workshop will serve as inputs to the planned GMS Midterm Review Meeting as well as the 10th GMS Ministerial Conference to be held sometime in 2001. The participants of the Workshop included delegations from the People's Republic of China (the PRC), Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Union of Myanmar, Kingdom of Thailand, and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

The Workshop concluded that the vision for the development of the EWEC is to stimulate the growth of participating areas and raise their incomes. This will be achieved through a dynamic process that facilitates the efficient exploitation of underlying complementarities and developing a range of competitive advantages that will enhance overall competitiveness. EWEC development will be facilitated once transport infrastructure improvements are put in place. Developments will occur across the entire Corridor, but will concentrate on the borders and enclaves. While benefits differ from one EWEC country to another, they exist for all.

In the area of physical infrastructure, there is need to expand and further improve existing facilities, many times through an expanded role of the private sector. More importantly, physical infrastructure should be seen as a "total" package that also considers the "new economy" and the impact on the final user, rather than focus on factor costs. This will also lead to the empowerment of small- and medium-sized enterprises. In trade and investment, the emphasis is on improving information systems and improving cooperation in customs in the border areas. In tourism, there was recognition of the tremendous potential of the EWEC. Marketing and packaging of the EWEC's tourism resources provide an opportunity for cooperative action. In the area of industrial estates development, there is a need for careful planning that takes into consideration the impact on the environment and agriculture, as well as rational use of scarce resources. Agriculture is recognized as a key to reducing poverty in the EWEC. The extensive linkages of agro-industry, in terms of geography and with other sectors, need to be highlighted.

Financing is a major constraint to the realization of the EWEC vision both from donor agencies and the private sector. Fiscal constraints in the EWEC countries compound this problem. More than this, however, there are other constraints/issues in the "soft" areas, such as operationalization of cross-border agreements, institutional arrangements, and operations and maintenance of physical infrastructure.

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

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