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Mekong nations seek to bolster economic corridors
Initiatives to help the three priority transport links in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to become full-fledged economic corridors will top the agenda at the Third Economic Corridors Forum in Vientiane tomorrow.
The three transport links are the North-South Economic Corridor, the East-West Economic Corridor, and the Southern Economic Corridor.
Ministers and senior officials from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, representatives from the private sector, and development partners will consider ways to further develop the corridors.
The forum will establish a strategy to address issues common to the three corridors including impediments and measures to enhance transport and trade facilitation and logistics development; the lack of operational links along certain routes; increasing border crossing facilities; improving the availability of customs brokerage and banking services; expanding operating hours for customs inspections; cumbersome clearance and border procedures; security issues; and the continuing need for transshipment at borders.
The forum, organised by the Asian Development Bank, is themed “Strengthening Pathways for Sustained Progress in the GMS”.
Under the GMS Economic Cooperation Programme, Mekong countries have agreed to create economic corridors linking various parts of the subregion to major markets, with certain locations serving as centres for production, trade, and enterprise development.
The corridors extend the benefits of improved transport links to remote and landlocked areas that are at a disadvantage because of their lack of integration with more prosperous and better-located neighbouring areas.
According to an ADB press release, opportunities for investment from inside and outside the subregion will be created, promote synergy, and enhance the impact of GMS activities.
“The areas along the economic corridors will be able to enjoy further benefits from expanded markets having a solid trade facilitation system in place,” said Director for the Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division in ADB's Southeast Asia Department, Mr Arjun Goswami.
The economic corridors will promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and sustained and balanced development in the GMS, contributing to the vision of the Asean Economic Community, he added.
Other topics to be discussed at the forum are the relevance of improving competitiveness of major corridor centres and the need to shore up inter-sector links to address GMS corridor development issues.
The forum was established in Kunming, China, in June 2008 to serve as the main advocate and promoter of multi-sector coordination in corridor development, by raising awareness of the needs of the priority GMS corridors, increasing the involvement of local authorities in corridor affairs, and improving public-private collaboration.
vientiane times
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