Methods to expand economic corridors to create favourable condition
for the flows of labour and products in the Greater Mekong Sub-region
(GMS) were discussed during the Fourth Economic Corridors Forum (ECF-4)
on June 28.
The forum took place in Myanmar ’s
Mandalay city, with the participation of ministers and senior officials
from six GMS member countries, including Cambodia , China , Laos ,
Myanmar , Thailand and Vietnam .
With the theme
“Towards Implementing the New GMS Strategic Framework (2012-2022):
Expanding, Widening, and Deepening Economic Corridors in the GMS”, the
forum focused on the investment directions and implications of the new
strategic framework for the GMS Programme, and ways to effectively
implement the new strategy. The ECF also reviewed potential new
alignments of the economic corridors in the GMS founded on both trade
and investment flows and economic analysis, the increasing emergence of
Myanmar , and requests of other GMS countries.
The conference also deliberated about issues constraining the
development of the economic corridors, and proposed actions needed to
accelerate the development guided by the new strategic framework.
The ECF has been paying attention to challenges limiting the
development of GMS corridor, including the lack of infrastructure,
logistics services and the inconvenient procedures of customs clearance.
Countries participating in the ECF-4 agreed on
refining institutional framework for effective delivery of corridor
development projects, affirming that the expansion of GMS corridor needs
to be implemented in conformity with national goals, relevant trade
flows and common interests of the region.
With its
capacity and function, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing
technical assistance to set up a regional investment framework and
develop investment of projects of next generations of GMS.-VNA