The 6th Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Corridors Forum was held in Hanoi on August 8 to review regional countries’ achievements over the past years and cross-border traffic and trade initiatives.

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) groups Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

The function, held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was attended by senior officials from the regional countries, and representatives of development partners and the private sector.

MoPI Deputy Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said although it takes time to develop economic corridors, this is the most effective way for the countries to enhance their connectivity, competitiveness and community spirit.

ADB Vice President Bindu Lohani said it is of importance to better infrastructure to strengthen the regional connectivity, especially traffic – the cornerstone of economic corridors.

Participants said the forum needs to focus on its core task of seeking ways to boost trade, investment and industrial development along the GMS’s economic corridors.

To that end, the countries should improve their transport infrastructure and facilitate trade and the development of special economic zones such as those at border gates, and export processing and industrial parks, they added.

The GMS countries organised the first forum in 2008 to bolster their effort to convert transport corridors into economic ones linking dynamic economic hubs.

Since 1998, the ADB has supported the formation of the East – West, North – South, and southern economic corridors in order to boost the region’s economic growth and cooperation.-VNA