ADB President Takehiko Nakao (first R) and GMS leaders at the sixth GMS Summit (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA)– The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expectsthe economic growth of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will continue toexpand in 2018, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said at the sixth GMS Summit inHanoi on March 31.
Sinceits establishment in 1992, the GMS programme has brought tremendous benefits tothe subregion, especially increasing connectivity and capacity in variousfields, he added.
Theeconomic growth of the GMS nations is impressive, and in 2018, ADB expects mostof the GMS countries will be among the fastest growing economies inAsia-Pacific.
Hesaid he has great optimistic view about the future continuous growth of the GMScountries, noting that some countries, including Vietnam, enjoying a growth of 7 percent, which is expected to doublein the next 10 years.
GMS growth is based on the countries’ effectivepolicies, open investment mechanism, and market-oriented reform.
ADB will continuesupporting the GMS to build a subregional investment framework from now to 2022with over 200 projects. The list of the projects will be updated regularly inthe coming years, focusing on mitigation of climate change, agriculture, healthcare, human resources competitiveness, and urban development, he said.
Thesixth GMS Summit took place in Hanoi on March 31, with the participation ofleaders of the regional countries and representatives from ASEAN, the AsianDevelopment Bank and the World Bank.
Themed “Leveraging on 25 years of Cooperation,and Building a Sustainable, Integrated, and Prosperous GMS”, the summitreviewed the 25-year path of GMS cooperation, and discussed opportunities andchallenges the subregion is facing as well as major orientations for GMScooperation in the coming time.
GMS wasestablished in 1992 as an initiative of the Asian Development Bank. TheGMS Programme is the most complete cooperation programme that involves Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and China’s Yunnan and Guangxi provinces.Priority fields include infrastructure development, energy, telecommunications,tourism, trade-investment, human resources, and the environment.-VNA
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