Regional : Strengthening the Coordination of the GMS Program

Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development

Public sector management / Economic affairs management

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

New GMS 10-year strategic framework (2012-2022), including possible linkages with other regional cooperation initiatives

GMS working groups, corridor development forums, and other high-level meetings promote the planned and prepared multisector approach.

Increased capacity of GMS national secretariats

New and emerging information and knowledge products for GMS prepared and disseminated

Structured information exchange and dialogue between ADB and other development partners, including the private sector

The TA has supported the organization and the conduct of major GMS events since its approval in July 2010. These include the following:

(i) GMS Ministerial Conferences (MC) -- 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd GMS Ministerial Conferences held in Ha Noi (Viet Nam) in August 2010, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in August 2011, Nanning (PRC) in December 2012, Vientiane (Lao PDR) in December 2013, Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar) in September 2015, Chiang Rai (Thailand) in December 2016, and Ha Noi (Viet Nam) in September 2017 respectively;

(ii) Mekong Development Forum held in Seoul, South Korea in September 2010;

(iii) Minister-level Economic Corridors Forum (ECF) - the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th GMS Economic Corridor Fora held in Vientiane (Lao PDR) in June 2011, Mandalay (Myanmar) in June 2012, in Bangkok, Thailand in August 2013, Ha Noi (Viet Nam) in August 2014, Kunming (PRC) in June 2015, Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in August 2016, and Ha Noi (Viet Nam) in September 2017 respectively;

(iv) GMS Summits -- the 4th, 5th, and 6th GMS Summits held in Myanmar in 2011, in Thailand in December 2014, and in Viet Nam in March 2018, respectively;

(v) 20th GMS Anniversary celebration held in Manila, Philippines in September 2012; and

(vi) Development Partners' Meetings held together with the 16th-22nd Ministerial Conferences and the 5th GMS Summit.

(vii) Business Opportunities Forum held in Thailand on 8 August 2013.

In December 2014, the GMS Investment Forum, the Second GMS Youth Forum were held in conjunction with the 5th GMS Summit.

The TA also supported the conduct of (i) regular GMS Senior Officials' Meetings (that also served as Task Force for preparation of deliverables for the Ministerial Conferences and Summits); (ii) Sector Working Group meetings (especially the Subregional Transport Forum and the Urban Development Task Force/Working Group); and (iii) consultations and roundtable discussions with development partners (held either as stand-alone events or as side-events to the GMS Ministerial Conferences) to improve coordination of cooperation programs at the regional and country levels and the implementation of the GMS list of high priority projects in the GMS Regional Investment Framework (RIF) 2013-2022, including those in the RIF Implementation Plan (2014-2020).

A new GMS Strategic Framework 2012-2022 (GMS SF-II) which emphasized strengthening cross-sector linkages was also developed under the TA. The GMS SF-II along with new sector strategies for agriculture, environment and tourism were endorsed during the 4th GMS Summit held in 2011. The TA also supported the preparation of the GMS Transport Sector Strategy 2030 (TSS 2030), a strategic document providing the framework for GMS cooperation in the transport sector for the period 2018-2030. The TSS 2030 is among the key deliverables of the 6th GMS Summit.

In 2016, a Midterm Review of the Regional Investment Framework Implementation Plan (RIF-IP) was undertaken, and a new expanded set of projects until 2020, the Revised RIF-IP, was endorsed at the 21st GMS Ministerial Conference.

In 2017 a midterm review of the GMS SF II was conducted and following the review's recommendations, the Ha Noi Action Plan 2018-2022 (HAP) was prepared to provide directions and operational focus for the remaining five years of the GMS SF-II. The HAP also guided the preparation of the GMS Regional Investment Framework 2022 (RIF 2022), a consolidation and expansion of the earlier RIF 2013-2022, and is the medium-term pipeline of priority projects in the GMS. The HAP Framework and RIF 2022 were endorsed by the GMS Ministers during the 22nd GMS Ministerial Conference in September 2017 and formally adopted by GMS Leaders during the 6th GMs Summit on 31 March 2018 as main summit deliverables.

Furthermore, the TA supported the preparation of key knowledge products including the GMS Development Partners Assistance Matrix; the GMS Statistics Database (second and third editions, and online database); the RIF-IP Progress Reports for periods ending June 2015, December 2015, and June 2016, and the maintenance of the web-based GMS Projects Database.

The TA has facilitated policy dialogue on outcomes of sector assessments under the new Regional Investment Framework for the GMS program and supported ADB's responsiveness to the changing international context of Myanmar, a member of the GMS cooperation program, through policy dialogue and analysis.

In 2016, the TA also supported the following studies on: (i) The Role of Special Economic Zones in Improving the Effectiveness of GMS Economic Corridors; (ii) improving trade logistics service provision in the GMS; (iii) Study on Strengthening the Institutional Framework of the GMS Program, (iv) Review of Configuration of GMS Economic Corridors; and (v) Fostering Competitive Cities and Urban Areas in the GMS. The first four studies were presented at the 8th GMS Economic Corridors Forum in August 2016 and 21st GMS Ministerial Conference in December 2016. Meanwhile, the study on competitive cities was a discussion paper during the 5th Meeting of the GMS Urban Development Task Force in August 2016. Most of these studies will be produced as official ADB publications.

Given the revised configuration of the GMS economic corridors that was endorsed by GMS Ministers in 2016, a study that assessed the state of development of the corridors was requested by GMS Ministers.

The study was started in 2017 and focused on assessing the physical condition of transport and related infrastructure. In addition, the study also sought to provide a broad indication of the economic potential of the corridors. The study is currently ongoing.

The TA also supported the Review of implementation of the GMS HRD Strategic Framework and Action Plan 2013-2017 to examine its results and lessons learned to guide directions for future cooperation in this sector beyond 2017. Key recommendations arising from the review were reported in the 22nd GMS Ministerial Conference.

To celebrate the 25th GMS Anniversary, an anniversary video, a coffee table book and a photo contest and exhibit were done. The video was produced in 2017, and further enhanced and presented during the 6th GMS Summit in March 2018. A coffee table book highlighting the GMS Program's first 25 years was also prepared and is proposed to be published in 2018. Similarly, a photo contest and photo exhibit were conducted to showcase the development progress in the GMS.

The original technical assistance (TA) required 27 person-months of international consulting services and 117 person-months of national consulting services. From April 2012 to April 2014, five minor changes in scope and/or increases in TA amount were approved that provided total additional consultancy inputs of 52.5 person-months of international consulting services and 300 person-months of national consulting services.

The increase in TA amount, which was approved in 2015, provides for the engagement of 32 person-months of international consulting services and 175 person-months of national consulting services. The contracts of core coordination consultants have been extended to continue to support GMS meetings and working groups, implementation and monitoring of the Regional Investment Framework Implementation Plan, and the capacity of GMS national secretariats until April 2018. New consultants were hired, including issues experts and resource persons, for the preparation of the GMS projects database and website, the various GMS studies, and for the ongoing midterm review of the GMS Strategic Framework.