Strategy And Action Plan For The Greater Mekong Subregion

The East–West Economic Corridor (EWEC) was launched in 1998 as a flagship initiative of the Greater Mekong Subregion. EWEC has since achieved many of its infrastructure targets and must now be transformed from a transport corridor into an economic corridor. This report reviews and updates the Pre-Investment Study for EWEC conducted in 2001. It consolidates the interests and concerns of stakeholders into a revised and updated strategy and action plan to provide a vision and framework, improve coordination, and assist in mobilizing resources for EWEC development. Preparation of this revised and updated strategy and action plan for EWEC involved a series of consultations with government officials of EWEC countries and representatives of the private sector, nongovernment organizations, and development partners. These consultations culminated in a regional workshop held on 24 April 2009 in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The revised and updated strategy and action plan for EWEC was endorsed at the 15th GMS Ministerial Conference held in Cha-am, Petchburi Province, Thailand on 17–19 June 2009.

The North–South Economic Corridor (NSEC), one of the priority economic corridors under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program, was designated as a GMS flagship initiative in 2002. Efforts have been taken since then to develop NSEC but these were pursued mainly on a project-by-project basis. Consultations in NSEC countries were started in the last quarter of 2007 to initiate a holistic approach to the development of NSEC. The strategy and action plan for NSEC is the product of these and subsequent consultations with government officials, representatives of the private sector, and other stakeholders in these countries. Besides providing a vision and framework for developing NSEC, this strategy and action plan is aimed at improving coordination, ensuring effective implementation, and helping the mobilization of resources and the broadening of support for NSEC development. The strategy and action plan for NSEC was endorsed at the 15th GMS Ministerial Conference held in Cha-am, Petchburi Province, Thailand on 17–19 June 2009.

The Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), one of the priority economic corridors under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program, was designated as a GMS flagship initiative in 2002. Efforts have been taken since then, but these were pursued mainly on a project-by-project basis. A series of consultations were conducted to initiate a holistic approach to the development of SEC. The strategy and action plan is the product of these and subsequent consultations with government officials, representatives of the private sector, and other stakeholders in these countries.Besides providing a vision and framework for developing SEC, this strategy and action plan is aimed at improving coordination, ensuring effective implementation, and helping the mobilization of resources and the broadening of support for SEC development. The second GMS Economic Corridors Forum, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 17 September 2009, discussed and generally agreed with the directions set forth in this strategy and action plan.

The Ha Noi Action Plan 2018–2022 addresses the unfinished and expanded agenda of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program for the remaining 5 years of the GMS Strategic Framework 2012–2022. The Ha Noi Action Plan provides directions and operational focus to the GMS program and guides identification of projects in transport, urban development, energy, agriculture, environment, tourism, trade facilitation, human resource development, and information and communication technology. The Ha Noi Action Plan's key elements are: spatial strategy focused on economic corridors; refinements in sector strategies and priorities; improvements in planning, programming, and monitoring systems and processes; and enhancements in institutional arrangements and partnerships.

The Mekong River is a vital and valuable resource, with huge development potential for the six states through which it flows. Given the significant asymmetry of power between those states, however, there is a real risk that some might utilise it to the detriment of others. Without a sense of regional belonging, it is difficult to imagine that these states and their constituent communities will take regional imperatives to heart, participate in joint regulatory frameworks, or adopt behaviours for upstream-downstream and lateral cooperation over the appropriation and use of their shared resources. How effectively has closer interdependence of the Mekong countries accommodated the development of a political-social-cultural space conducive to the growth of a regional "we-ness" among not only political elites, but also the general public? The contributors to this volume approach this question from a range of directions, including the impacts of tourism, regional development programmes, the Mekong Power Grid, and Sino-US rivalry. This edited volume presents valuable insights for scholars of international relations, Asian studies, development studies, environment studies, policy studies, and human geography.