Remarks by ADB President Takehiko Nakao on the progress of the GMS Program at the 5th GMS Summit on 20 December 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand (as drafted).

Excellencies:

I am pleased and honored to report to you on the progress of GMS cooperation since the 4th GMS Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in December 2011.

Building upon the GMS Strategic Framework that was endorsed at the last Summit, the GMS countries prepared a Regional Investment Framework (RIF) in December 2013. This identifies a comprehensive pipeline of more than 200 new generation projects from 2013 to 2022, for the third decade of the GMS Program.

To operationalize this project pipeline, the RIF Implementation Plan identifies the highest priority projects that can begin implementation between 2014 and 2018. The Implementation Plan includes 92 investment projects across 10 sectors, with an estimated total cost of about $30 billion. The Implementation Plan’s monitoring and evaluation system will facilitate the tracking of implementation progress and achievement of results.

Now I would like to report the concrete progress of GMS in six areas. First, the GMS Program continued to bolster physical connectivity in the subregion. Two flagship GMS transport projects, The Fourth International Mekong Bridge between Thailand and Lao PDR and the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway in Viet Nam were completed and opened to traffic in the past year. These two projects are along the GMS North-South Economic Corridor. Furthermore, construction of the the Myawaddy to Kawkareik Road in Myanmar, along the GMS East-West Economic Corridor, and the  Mekong Bridge at Neak Loeung in Cambodia, along the Southern Economic Corridor, is underway, and the projects are expected to be completed in 2015.

Second, equally important are the advances in software connectivity to ease the movement of goods, people and services across borders.  The Three-Year Blueprint for Transport and Trade Facilitation provides the necessary framework for further work to facilitate land-based cross-border transport and trade in the GMS.

Third, in the area of institutional connectivity, MOUs have been signed for the establishment of two important institutions focused on specific areas of GMS cooperation, namely: the Regional Power Coordination Center and the Greater Mekong Railway Association.

Fourth, the agriculture, environment, and tourism sectors are critical to inclusive and sustainable development in the GMS. Phase 2 of the Core Agriculture Support Program (2011-2020) continued to make strides in controlling transboundary animal diseases, expanding cross-border trade in safe agricultural food products, and building capacity in biotechnology and biosafety. Similarly, the second phase of the GMS Core Environment Program has been strengthening capacities for environmental safeguards, increasing awareness about climate adaptation and resilience, and promoting low carbon technologies. Initiatives under the refocused GMS Tourism Sector Strategy and efforts to promote the GMS as a single tourist destination contributed to the increased tourist arrivals in the subregion which rose to a record 52 million in 2013—double the 26 million arrivals in 2008.

Fifth, the GMS Human Resource Development Strategic Framework and Action Plan covers a wide range of activities, from skills development, to controlling communicable diseases, to the prevention of human trafficking. The successful Communicable Disease Control Project, for example, is in its second phase and focusing on controlling diseases affecting vulnerable populations along the GMS economic corridors. In addition, the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance, whose Secretariat is ADB and supported by many bilateral partners, is also working closely with the GMS in identifying key regional priorities to achieve elimination of malaria by 2030.

Sixth,  is the enhanced capacity of senior GMS officials to respond to the growing demands of a successful regional cooperation program. Since the last Summit, the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management has conducted capacity building and training programs for more than 600 senior GMS officials in various areas of regional development, cooperation and integration. The strong support from both regional and non-regional development partners has been instrumental in the program’s many accomplishments and results.  

Excellencies:

The GMS achievements over the last 3 years are quite impressive. These achievements demonstrate the continued significance of the GMS Program in the third decade of its existence since its inception in 1992.

We at ADB are truly honored to be part of the GMS Program from its beginning, and we reaffirm our commitment to support your endeavors toward a prosperous and harmonious GMS.

Thank you.

Speaker

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