Regional: Sustaining the Gains of Regional Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development

Education / Education sector development - Technical and vocational education and training

Energy / Electricity transmission and distribution - Energy sector development and institutional reform

Health / Disease control of communicable disease - Health sector development and reform

Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development - Trade and services

Public sector management / Public administration

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will support countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in transforming the GMS Program into a more effective

regional cooperation platform that adds value to member countries' national development strategies and benefits the local populations of member countries.

The GMS strategic framework midterm review reaffirmed the strong ownership and commitment of the member countries in the GMS Program. It identified the following challenges

that need to be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the program: (i) weak coordination and decision-making mechanisms; (ii) inadequate mechanisms for project identification, resource mobilization, and results monitoring; and (iii) weak knowledge-based strategic planning.

Regional cooperation and integration in the Greater Mekong Subregion sustained.

Implementation of the GMS Program is more effective.

GMS Coordination and Decision Making Mechanisms Strengthened.

Project identification, resource mobilization, and results monitoring mechanism improved.

Knowledge-based strategic planning enhanced.

In support of enhancing knowledge-based strategic planning, the TA supported the preparation of the new GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) as mandated by the Leaders during the 6th GMS Summit in 2018. The draft presented to and reviewed by GMS Ministers during the 24th Ministerial Conference (MC-24) in November 2020 has been finalized at the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) held on 11 March 2021. The GMS-2030 was adopted by the Leaders at the 7th GMS Summit on 9 September 2021.

As a supplement to the GMS-2030, the TA also supported the preparation of the GMS COVID-19 Response and Recovery Plan 2021-2023, a medium term plan to respond to and mitigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and accelerate recovery of the GMS. The Plan was also adopted by the Leaders at the 7th GMS Summit.

A Research Program to support GMS-2030 is also being developed through the TA.

GMS-2030 also acknowledged the role of research institutions and called for the establishment of a GMS knowledge network. The TA supported the preparations required for the formal establishment of the network, including the concept note, country nominees for the interim steering group, and country consultation meetings.

The TA supported the conduct of a study, Greater Mekong Subregion 2030 and Beyond: Integration, Upgrading, Cities, and Connectivity, which aimed to provide possible ways for accelerating GMS development through better integrating with global and regional value chains, greater industrial diversification, and tapping the growth driving potentials of cities.

The TA also supported the conduct of a scoping study, Enhancing Collaboration in Trade and Investment under the GMS Program in response to GMS-2030 mandate for the GMS Program to continue its efforts to develop trade and investment facilitation in the subregion and beyond. The work on the scoping study started in September 2021 and was completed in February 2022. The final scoping study document is the result of joint efforts by the GMS country-nominated focal points, the GMS Secretariat, and ADB in-house and external trade and investment specialists. It maps out proposed interventions for both the short- and long-term, while putting forth the consideration of a GMS Trade and Investment Task Force to implement these recommendations systematically. The final draft study and its recommendations were presented to SOM on 10 March 2022.

The TA supported the formulation of the GMS Gender Strategy, which pursues and adds value to the GMS-2030 mandate of a more inclusive subregion. Based on a comprehensive GMS gender assessment, the strategy aims at achieving gender equality and women's empowerment in the GMS, where pre-existing gender inequalities have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy identifies entry points for gender mainstreaming at three levels: cross-cutting themes, sectors, and projects. The document has gone through several rounds of comments and bilateral and group consultations with ADB in-house and external sectoral and gender experts, GMS countries, and presented at SOM level. Work on the GMS gender strategy started in November 2020, and it is expected to seek endorsement at the GMS 25-MC in 2022.

The TA supported the organization and conduct of the following: (1) 24th Ministerial Conference (MC-24) virtually held on 4 November 2020 with the theme, 'Pave the way to a more integrated, inclusive, sustainable and prosperous GMS_. MC-24 convened close to 400 participants, consisting of ministers and senior Officials of the six GMS countries, representatives from ADB, development partners (DPs), and the private sector. MC-24 took note of the (i) GMS countries' immediate responses to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic; (ii) actions taken and achievements made under GMS cooperation mechanisms in response to the pandemic, particularly in the mo

A total 223 total individual consulting inputs will be allocated as follows:

(i) 24 person-months to eight international consultants,

(ii) 196 person-months to 21 national consultants and

(iii) three person months to seven resource persons. The international contracts (including out-of-pocket expenses) are estimated to cost $442,000 while the national contracts are estimated at $644,000. The total package for the resource persons/facilitators (under the workshop budget) is estimated at $58,000._Individual consultants will be recruited using Individual Consultant Selection.