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GMS Sector Activities
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| YEAR | DATE | ACTIVITY |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | August | 12th Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-12) (12-14 August 2008) |
| 2007 | May | 11th Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-11) (8-9 May 2007) |
| 2006 | March | 10th Meeting of the GMS Subregional Transport Forum (back-to-back with Final Meeting on the GMS Transport Sector Strategy Study) (STF-10) (22-23 March 2006) |
| 2005 | June | Ninth Meeting of the GMS Subregional Transport Forum (STF-9) (1-2 June2005) |
| 2004 | August | Eighth Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-8) (3-4 August 2004) |
| 2003 | February | GMS Officials Negotiate Annexes and Protocols of Cross-Border Transport Agreement (25-27 February 2003) |
| January | ESCAP and ADB conduct Seminar on Cross-border Transport Facilitation in the GMS (27-29 January 2003) | |
| 2002 | August | Transport Forum Prepares for PRC's Accession to the GMS Cross Border Agreement |
| Seventh Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-7) (20-21 August 2002) |
The Twelfth Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-12) was held in Da Nang City, Viet Nam on 12-14 August 2008. The Meeting discussed recent developments, key issues, and future plans in the GMS transport sector, with particular focus on maximizing the development impact of the network and on the problems that remain as regards the conduct of transport and trade operations along the GMS economic corridors and possible ways of addressing them.
Among the presentations and discussions during the Meeting were on: (i) key issues and recommendations on how to accelerate and make effective the implementation of the GMS Cross Border Transport Agreement (CBTA), particularly on possible ways of engaging the private sector in these efforts, including a recommendation to bring together the transport operators in the GMS countries to form a regional freight transport operators association that would set the standards and act as an industry licensing or qualifying body; (ii) the efforts being undertaken to mitigate the negative impacts or risks of transport development, particularly the risks of the spread of HIV/AIDS and human trafficking associated with large transport infrastructure projects; and (iii) the activities of the GMS Core Environment Program in relation with transport sector development, with particular reference to the transport/economic corridors, which intersect with key biodiversity corridors in the region. The Meeting also produced and adopted a matrix, based on the Vientiane Plan of Action that was endorsed by the Third GMS Summit, showing the priority GMS transport projects and the countries involved that will be pursued in the medium term.
11th Meeting of the GMS Subregional Transport Forum (STF-11) (Bangkok, Thailand, 8-9 May 2007)
The 11th Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-11) held on 8-9 May 2007 formulated and agreed to adopt an Action Plan for the GMS Transport Sector covering the period 2008-2012, which is based mainly on the Transport Sector Strategy. The Action Plan includes 63 priority investment projects for the construction or improvement of infrastructure in road, rail, water, and air tranport that are planned to be pursued within the next five years. It also contains priority technical assistance projects that are focused on various transport-related needs, including capacity building, logistics development, tourism transport requirements, and promoting multi-modal transport development.
The Meeting also discussed key topics and issues that have an important bearing on subregional transport development, namely, multi-modal transport and logistics. It recognized the crucial importance of developing efficient logistics systems to complement the transport infrastructure being put in place. Further, the Meeting agreed to continue pursuing efforts to develop efficient multi-modal transport systems in the subregion as well as efforts toward the transformation of the transport corridors into economic corridors.
The Meeting considered and agreed in principle on the further refinement and expansion of the GMS corridor network, which increases the number of corridors from the existing 3 corridors to 9 corridors. This new corridor network is basically the one contained in the Transport Sector Strategy Study, with some modifications to include other key road sections. It had also been discussed and agreed in principle by the GMS Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Siem Reap, Cambodia last April 2007. The main principle on which the corridor network is based is focusing development efforts on specific strategic geographical areas.
For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 385kb | 6 pages ].
The Subregional Transport Forum held its 10th Meeting (STF-10) in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 22-23 March 2006 to review, adopt, and endorse the final report of the GMS Transport Sector Strategy Study (TSSS). STF-10 immediately followed a meeting of GMS transport officials on 21 March 2006 to review and finalize the draft report of the TSSS.
STF-10 was chaired by Mr. Math Sounmala, Director General of the Planning and Cooperation Department, Ministry of Communications Transport Post and Construction (MCTPC) of Lao PDR and co-chaired by Mr. Peter Broch, Transport/Project Economist, Infrastructure Division, Mekong Department (MKID), ADB.
The Meeting considered and agreed in principle on the further refinement and expansion of the GMS corridor network, which increases the number of corridors from the existing 3 corridors to 9 corridors. This new corridor network is basically the one contained in the Transport Sector Strategy Study, with some modifications to include other key road sections. It had also been discussed and agreed in principle by the GMS Senior Officials’ Meeting held in Siem Reap, Cambodia last April 2007. The main principle on which the corridor network is based is focusing development efforts on specific strategic geographical areas.
In the Meeting, the participants were briefed on the theme, key elements, and overarching goals for the GMS transport sector as proposed in the TSSS, as well as on the investment and technical assistance projects recommended by the study. The basic theme of the TSSS, which was set in the GMS Leaders’ Second Summit, is “Towards seamless transport services on a fully connected and integrated GMS network,” and the proposed overarching goals are:
In the review and discussion of the TSSS final report, the meeting had the following key results:
For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 1,860kb | 29 pages ].
The Ninth Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-9) was held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1-2 June 2005. The Meeting, which was co-chaired by M. Li Guangling, Deputy Director General, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Communications (MOC) and Mr. John Cooney, Director, Infrastructure Division, Mekong Department (MKID), ADB, reviewed the progress of priority subregional initiatives/projects in the transport sector; discussed the initial recommendations on the strategic objectives and directions of the GMS Transport Sector Strategy Study currently being prepared; discussed further issues and details of transport sector plans and initiatives contained in the GMS Plan of Action endorsed by the 13th GMS Ministerial Conference in December 2004; and updated and refined the parts of the GMS development matrix pertaining to the North-South, East-West, and Southern Economic Corridors.
In reviewing the progress and status of priority transport initiatives, participants noted certain key issues and developments, such as the need to accelerate the implementation of the Third Mekong International Bridge, greater attention to be given to inland waterways and shipping development on the Lancang-Mekong River, need for capacity building for the implementation of the GMS Cross Border Transport Agreement, the Thailand-Myanmar-India linkages currently under discussion, the railway projects in Cambodia, the forging of bilateral air service agreements between countries, and efforts to address the issues of pollution and road accidents.
With regard to the new GMS Transport Sector Strategy Study being undertaken, the Meeting noted that the Study seeks to address the following concerns:
It was also noted that a more efficient transport sector has significant impact on poverty alleviation, through its support of economic growth. The participants also gave their views and suggestions on possible further issues to be addressed and directions for the Study.
The Meeting also discussed a number of important issues regarding the financing of transport infrastructure projects, such as the need for flexible approaches to ensure that financing decisions are suited to the individual project’s characteristcs, the appropriate balance between public and prvate financing, and the need for innovative public-private partnerships.
For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 344kb | 29 pages ].
The GMS Subregional Transport Forum held its Eighth Meeting (STF-8) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 3-4 August 2004. The Meeting aimed:
The Meeting was co-chaired by His Excellency (H.E.) Mr. Chhin Kong Hean, Director General, Directorate of Public Works, MPWT, and Mr. Urooj Malik, Director, Infrastructure Division, Mekong Department (MKID), ADB.
The GMS country delegations reported on recent developments in the transport sector in their respective countries, including priority transport projects, programs, and policies under the GMS Program. In their reports and in the following discussions, some of the achievements and developments highlighted by the participants were:
The Meeting also noted the progress made and future activities related to the GMS Cross-Border Transport Agreement (Agreement). The major milestones for the future work on the CBTA are:
Further, the Meeting were apprised and commented on and expressed support for the proposed Study for a new GMS Transport Strategy, which will give gretaer attention to the demand side factors in the effort to provide a clear vision in the development of a GMS transport network that will promote the connectivity and competitiveness of the GMS.
The Meeting also discussed the updating of the GMS development matrix (DM) for the East-West (EWEC), North-South (NSEC), and Southern (SEC) economic corridor flagship programs. The Meeting further noted the need to manage negative externalities in developing the GMS economic corridors, as well as the importance of considering poverty reduction and environment aspects.
For more details, please view entire proceedings [ PDF: 253kb | 24 pages ].
The First Negotiation Meeting on Stage 1 annexes and protocol of the GMS Cross-Border Transport Agreement was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam on 25-27 February 2003. The Meeting discussed and negotiated:
The Meeting was attended by GMS senior officials from the relevant ministries and agencies.
Stage 1 annexes and protocol include:
The Meeting reached agreement in the many important areas discussed. The Meeting agreed on and finalized the guidelines to negotiate the annexes and protocols, which will provide the broad rules and procedures to be followed in all negotiation meetings. These guidelines include, among other things, the mode of decision-making and the role of ADB as facilitator and secretariat to the negotiation process. The Meeting also agreed on and finalized the draft amendment to Article 17, which will allow mutual recognition of driving permits issued by the GMS national authorities.
The Meeting agreed in principle on the text of annexes 4, 12, and 15 and Protocol 1. The Meeting also reached partial agreement on the annexes 2, 7, 11, and 13a.
Regarding Annexes 7, 11, and 13a, the GMS delegations agreed in principle to adopt the relevant international convention or applicable ASEAN regimes. However, they requested to include in the main body of these three annexes the full text of the appropriate sections of the conventions or regimes, instead of simply referring to them. This will make the annexes stand-alone documents, and will facilitate the internal approval process required to finalize them. Regarding Annex 2, the GMS delegations requested ADB to come up with a proposed harmonized listing of items to be included in the registration certificates and registration plates of motor vehicles in cross-border traffic.
The second negotiation meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held on 12-14 May 2003 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and ADB organized a Seminar on Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport in the GMS in Vientiane, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) on 27-29 January 2003. The objective of the Seminar was to assist the GMS countries in formulating their respective national positions for the negotiation meetings for Stage 1 annexes and protocols, the first of which will be held in Hanoi on 25-27 February 2003. In addition to ADB and ESCAP experts, officials from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) served as resource persons and made presentations on international conventions that are relevant to Stage 1 annexes and protocols. Senior officials from various ministries and agencies concerned in the six GMS countries participated in the Seminar.
It will be recalled that the GMS Agreement to Facilitate the Cross-border Transport of Goods and People has been signed by Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, the Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam. To fully implement the Agreement soon, the signatory countries will have to negotiate, finalize, and sign the Agreement's 17 annexes and 3 protocols. Myanmar has indicated that it will sign the Agreement, but the date of its intended accession is still to be determined. The Agreement's annexes and protocols have been classified into three stages according to ease of understanding and ease of reaching agreement. Stage 1 annexes and protocols are scheduled to be negotiated in 2003, Stage 2 in 2004, and Stage 3 in 2005.
Stage 1 annexes and protocols include:
The participants discussed extensively and had constructive deliberations on various issues related to the Stage 1 Annexes and Protocol, relevant international conventions, Asian Highway routes and Asian Highway Classification and Design Standards as well as ASEAN Highway Design Standards.
Five major issues were identified, which will be deliberated on during the first negotiation meeting:
For the entire proceedings, email: gms@adb.org
A key outcome of the Meeting was the finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Clarification of the Relationship Between the GMS Cross-Border Agreement and Its Annexes and Protocols and Commitment to Amend Article 17 (Driving Permits).
The STF-7 agreed that this MOU will be signed at the GMS Summit to be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 3 November 2002, instead of the 11th GMS Ministerial Conference to be held in Phnom Penh on 23-25 September 2002, as initially planned. This will give the GMS officials concerned sufficient time to obtain necessary internal Governments clearances/ approvals for the signing of the MOU. The signing of the MOU will pave the way for the accession of the People's Republic of China to the GMS Cross-Border Framework Agreement during the GMS Summit.
The STF-7 also agreed on the next steps for the negotiation and signing of the annexes and protocols to the GMS Cross-Border Framework Agreement, which have been classified into three phases/stages according to relative ease of understanding and reaching agreement. The first meeting on the first stage annexes and protocols is scheduled to be held in January 2003.
For more details, please view entire proceedings.
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