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Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program: Overview

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Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program: Overview OVERVIEW Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program 1 Contents 3 | The GMS Program 5 | Institutional Arrangements 6 | Program Sectors 13 | Recent Developments More information on the GMS Program is available at www.adb.org/gms/ © 2012 Asian Development Bank All rights reserved. Published in 2012. Printed in the Philippines The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB. Note: In this publication, “$” refers to US dollars. All images were taken from the ADB photo archive. 2 The GMS Program he Greater Mekong Subregion of logistics systems, regional power (GMS) is made up of Cambodia, the trade, harnessing of information and TPeople’s Republic of China (PRC, communication technology (ICT), expansion specifically Yunnan Province and Guangxi of cross-border agricultural trade, and the Zhuang Autonomous Region), the Lao promotion of the GMS as a single tourism People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), destination. The GMS countries have ratified Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The a landmark agreement to facilitate the GMS is a natural economic area bound cross-border movement of goods and together by the Mekong River, with an people, which is being implemented on area of 2.6 million square kilometers and a a pilot basis at key border crossings, and combined population of about 326 million. is being prepared for full implementation in the GMS corridors. In 1992, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and building on A sense of community is being fostered their shared histories and cultures, the six as the GMS countries jointly address countries of the GMS launched a program shared social and environmental of subregional economic cooperation— concerns, such as the prevention and the GMS Program—to enhance their control of communicable diseases, and economic relations, covering nine priority the protection of the subregion’s rich sectors: agriculture, energy, environment, biodiversity and ecosystems. human resource development, investment, telecommunications, tourism, transport Implementation of the GMS program infrastructure, and transport and trade is monitored through the Vientiane facilitation. Plan of Action, which was adopted by the GMS leaders at the Third Summit in The GMS Program, with the support of Vientiane, Lao PDR, in March 2008. Projects ADB and other development partners, is and activities under the plan of action helping the participating countries achieve include the completion of key sections the Millennium Development Goals of the GMS road corridors; accelerated through increased connectivity, improved implementation of the Core Environment competitiveness, and a greater sense of Program–Biodiversity Conservation community (the three Cs). Corridors Initiative (CEP–BCI); strengthened agricultural cooperation through the Connectivity is being achieved through Core Agriculture Support Program (CASP); the development of subregional transport joint tourism marketing, promotion, and infrastructure, particularly transport development; and more focused strategic corridors, power interconnection systems, directions and priorities for human and telecommunications backbone resource development, including capacity network. building for GMS officials under the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management. Competitiveness is being facilitated through increased connectivity, transport By the end of 2011, ADB had extended and trade facilitation and the development loans and grants totaling $5.1 billion for 3 56 investment projects with a total project rural and integrated area development cost of $15.0 billion. The projects involved along the corridors. This entails more subregional roads, airport and railway investments in urban services, such as improvements, hydropower for cross-border sanitation; rebalancing in transport, power supply, tourism infrastructure, urban with an emphasis on feeder roads and development, and communicable disease multimodal transport, including railways; control. GMS governments have provided technologically smart investments about $4.3 billion for these projects and in energy and telecommunications; development partners have funded about and green technologies. The second- $5.6 billion. In addition, ADB supported generation initiatives also include greater 177 technical assistance projects with emphasis on policy and institutional a total cost of $286.1 million for project reforms (“software”) to use more effectively preparation, capacity development, existing and future infrastructure through economic and sector work, and progress in areas related to transport and coordination and secretariat assistance. trade facilitation, development of the regional power market, single-destination Future Directions. The GMS countries, tourism, sustainable natural resource with the assistance of ADB, have prepared management, and the development a new strategic framework for 2012–2022. and improved use of human resources. This was endorsed at the Fourth GMS The new GMS Strategic Framework also Summit in Myanmar in December 2011. involves an increased role for knowledge The new GMS Strategic Framework is management and partnerships for anchored on the corridor-development effective implementation of the more approach and embodies a generational complex cooperation agenda in the next shift in the nature, direction, and scope phase of the maturing GMS Program. of the GMS Program as it enters a new All aspects of the new GMS Strategic decade. The next generation of investment Framework and Program will require programs will comprise multisector increased resources, and hence greater physical infrastructure investments, engagement with the private sector and including urban development, as well as development partners. 4 Institutional Arrangements he GMS is managed by an Programme; the United Nations institutional mechanism Environment Programme; the United Tinvolving both the political and Nations Economic and Social Commission operational levels of the six GMS member for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP); the governments. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the World Bank; and Development Partners in the GMS. The the World Health Organization. GMS Program has forged new and innovative partnerships and project financing ADB’s Role. ADB plays a multifaceted role arrangements. Significant progress has in the GMS Program as been made on priority projects with the support of development partners. financier, providing financing and Bilateral donors include the governments assistance to the GMS countries; of Australia, the PRC, Denmark, Finland, provider of technical and advisory France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of support for many activities under the Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, GMS Program; Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among the secretariat and coordinator of the multilateral partners are ADB; the European GMS Program; Commission; the European Investment honest broker, supporting Bank; the Food and Agriculture Organization subregional dialogue at the political of the United Nations; the International and operational levels, and among Fund for Agricultural Development; the stakeholders of the GMS Program; and International Labour Organization; the International Organization for Migration; catalyst, by bringing together the the Nordic Development Fund; the OPEC different participants in the GMS Fund for International Development; Program and helping them reach the United Nations Development consensus on key issues. GMS Institutional Structure GMS Summit Ministerial-Level Conference National Coordinating Senior ADB GMS Committee in Officials’ Secretariat Each Country Meeting Forums and Working Groups in ADB = Asian Development Bank, GMS = Greater Mekong Subregion. Nine Priority Sectors Source: ADB. 5 Program Sectors The GMS Program has nine priority sectors (ii) promoting climate-friendly agriculture of cooperation: and natural resource management; and (iii) promoting agriculture as a leader in Agriculture providing rural renewable energy and supporting eco-friendly cross-border supply chains. The strategy and its pillars The GMS countries recognize agriculture’s are based on a foundation that includes important links with other sectors and agricultural research and technology areas of cooperation in the GMS Program focused on climate-friendly agricultural and view it as a key area for poverty development, private sector involvement reduction. The second phase of the Core to ensure sustainability, and institutional Agriculture Support Program (CASP II), mechanisms for regional cooperation. covering 2011–2015, was endorsed by the 16th GMS Ministerial Conference held on 19–20 August 2010 in Ha Noi,
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