Member countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) are unanimous in drawing up a list of potential projects worth US$50 billion under a new Regional Investment Framework (RIF) agreement.
Stephen Groff, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that the next generation projects can help boost trade and investment cooperation among nations, and stimulate employment and growth.
The GMS program is focused on perfecting transport links with priorities given to improving knowledge and software, and facilitating the exchange and management of public goods in the region.
The RIF agreement was approved at the 19th Ministerial Conference of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program in Vientiane. It consists of sub-regional technical assistance and investment projects.
China and Vietnam also signed an agreement on developing cross border economic cooperative zones. The recent completion of a new bridge linking Laos and Thailand has helped improve transport on the North-South Economic Corridor of the GMS.
The GMS program is aimed at turning the transport corridors into economic ones to boost trade and investment cooperation among nations, as well as stimulating growth and employment while the RIF agreement is targeted towards multi-sector projects.
Along with developing urban areas and logistics centres, the focus will be on building an electricity market in the sub-region, meeting investment demand from member nations and enhancing their capacity to cope with climate change, improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector and ensure food safety and hygiene.
(VOV)
