Greater Mekong Subregion

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GMS Sector Activities
Human Resource Development

Read the Subregional Working Group on HRD Terms of Reference [ PDF: 26kb | 2 pages ] and Memorandum of Understanding on Transboundary Animal Disease Control [ PDF: 141kb | 3 pages ].

Information on GMS - Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management (PPP) is separately available with latest events.

View pamphlet on Evaluating the Impact of Live Entertainment Performances: Results from the 2007 Hilltribe Concert [ PDF: 2.9mb | 2 pages ].

HRD Archive

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Eighth Meeting of the GMS Working Group on Human Resource Development (Siem Reap, Cambodia, 9-11 May 2007)

The 8th Meeting of the GMS Working Group on Human Resource Development (WGHRD-8) was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 9-11 May 2007, co-organized by ADB and the Royal Government of Cambodia. The theme of the Meeting was “Charting New Strategic Directions in GMS Cooperation in HRD”. About 28 delegates from the 6 GMS member countries, 26 representatives from development partner agencies, including multilateral and bilateral donors, regional academic and research organizations, private sector, and civil society organizations, and 10 ADB staff attended.

The meeting discussed key issues, challenges, strategic directions, and priority programs for strengthening GMS cooperation in HRD, particularly in health, education, labor and migration, and social development. About 25 major statements and presentations were made by the GMS Heads of Delegations and selected development partners which significantly enriched the sharing of knowledge and cross-fertilization of ideas during the meeting. Common issues and concerns were identified at the plenary and the focused breakout group sessions. These issues relate to the social impacts associated with increased regional economic integration and physical connectivity in the GMS including labor and migration, human trafficking, cross-border health and education concerns. The insights gathered at the meeting will be useful in guiding the direction of future work of the WGHRD and its subsectors, particularly in the context of the preparation of a Strategic Framework for HRD Cooperation in the GMS and a medium-term action plan. The agreed milestone is to complete the Strategic Framework and action plan for submission and approval of the Third GMS Summit in 2008. The working group also welcomed and agreed to provide support for the preparations for the GMS Youth Forum and Caravans to be implemented as one of the component events of the Third GMS Summit.

For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 6.44mb | 33 pages ].

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GMS Countries Agree on a Framework for Cooperation in Human Resource Development (Vientiane, Lao PDR, 5-6 September 2002)

GMS sector experts (in health, education and labor) met in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 5-6 September 2002 to arrive at a consensus on the framework for HRD cooperation in the subregion. The meeting, the fourth for the GMS Working Group in HRD (WGHRD-4) was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Lao PDR, and the ADB. It would be recalled that a framework for HRD cooperation was deemed necessary in light of the adoption by the 10th GMS Ministerial Meeting (Yangon, November 2001), of the new GMS Strategic Framework ("GMS Framework") for cooperation among GMS countries. The HRD framework was to be used as basis for prioritizing projects for inclusion in the GMS Framework's flagship program on HRD entitled "Developing Human Resources and Skills Competencies."

Prior to discussion of the HRD framework, the WGHRD-4 meeting first recalled the principles followed in earlier GMS HRD programs. It was noted that priority was earlier given to projects that focused on the following:

• those that have cross-border implications
• those that provide scale economies (like vaccine purchase)
• those that provide cross-country learning and sharing (Cambodia's AIDS care program); and
• those with regional public good qualities (HIV/ AIDS toolkits).

The HRD framework proposed for prioritizing HRD projects consisted of four steps, namely:

• assessment of external environment
• evaluation of institutional capacity
• setting of vision/ mission/ goals; and
• matching these with major policies, programs and projects.

The breakout sessions, held to maximize contributions from participants, followed these prescribed steps. As a result of the breakouts, the meeting agreed on the following vision and mission for HRD cooperation for each of the HRD sectors:

• Education: Facilitating opportunities for sharing of educational experiences, best practices, innovations, etc. across the subregion

• Labor: Transferring knowledge and experience for improving skills and competence of the labor force in the subregion

• Health: Improving control of communicable diseases and access to quality health services in remote areas and vulnerable groups

The meeting then recommended a pipeline of projects for the next five years, classified according to high, medium and low priority. For education, the top priority projects were the GMS - Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management, and Education Needs of Ethnic Minorities. Similarly for health, the top priorities were Health Needs of Ethnic Minorities, and ICT and HIV/AIDS Preventive Education in the Cross-border Areas of GMS. The labor group gave top priority to Capacity Building for Skills Exchanges and Accreditation for GMS Labor Markets, but first suggested the conduct of inventory studies on labor markets, mobility, skills requirements, gender issues, and others. The groups presented a total of 21 priority projects. The Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management, ADB's proposed scholarship program, would address the needs of middle and senior level government officials across sectors covering planning, program and project implementation and other aspects of development management.

The WGHRD-4 meeting emphasized four major concerns which cut across sectors. The first was on the need to prepare for globalization, and increase in human and capital mobility, as these impact on the spread of diseases and the relevance of skills produced by the institutions. The second concerned the need for maximizing the benefits from advances in technology, such as the pursuit of biomedical research and integration of ICT in education and labor market systems. The third pointed to the urgency of addressing uneven development in the subregion, addressed partly through programs for ethnic minorities. Lastly, the meeting pointed to the need for new, creative ideas to strengthen ownership of the HRD program by the countries, and the need for mechanisms for this such as newsletters and rotation of chairmanship of future meetings.

For more details, please view entire proceedings.

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