Building and Completing Hanoi Action Plan Framework

The 22nd Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Ministerial Conference (GMS-22) was held in Hanoi on 20 September.

This conference was attended by 200 international delegates, including Ministers of six GMS nations, Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Vice President, officials from GMS nations, Head of the East Asia Division and ADB officials, and development partners for the GMS region, such as the ADB, the World Bank Group (WB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the NEDA, the AFD, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

GMS-22 celebrated 25 years of economic cooperation. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said GMS economic cooperation programme could be one of the most prominent and successful initiatives regarding regional cooperation and integration. Since its inception to date, GMS initiatives have achieved significant success in all areas of cooperation among GMS nations.

Ministers from the GMS countries endorsed a five-year action plan framework also called Hanoi Action Plan Framework, a very important plan to realise GMS Cooperation Strategic Framework from now till 2022. The Hanoi Action Plan is expected to be reviewed and approved by GMS Leaders at the Sixth GSM Summit in Vietnam in March 2018.

At the same time, the GMS-22 will review the Strategic Framework and Action Plan for Human Resources Development for the period from 2013 to 2017, including the proposal for the establishment of the GMS Working Group on Health Cooperation.

In particular, the ministers also endorsed the GMS Regional Investment Framework 2022 (RIF 2022) to support the HAP through a pipeline of 222 investment and technical assistance projects valued at US$64 billion. They urged greater engagement of development partners and private sector to meet financing requirements in the GMS in 2018 - 2022. They also endorsed the GMS Tourism Sector Strategy 2016 - 2025.

Covering an area of 2.6 million square kilometres and a combined population of more than 300 million, GMS really has a huge human resource advantage and a potential consumer market. Over 25 years of formation and development, with the efforts of all member countries, with the strong support of ADB and donors, the GMS economic cooperation programme has formed and operated effectively, attracted a big sum of capital to carry out initiatives; promoted strong cooperation and connectivity in such fields as transportation, energy, environment, agriculture, tourism, private investment and human resources development.

At the Workshop on “Interconnected Road Infrastructure Development in GMS Nations” opened on September 19, just one day before GMS-22, ADB is committed to funding US$600 - 700 million to support Vietnam's infrastructure within the framework of this programme.

Nguyen Thanh