GMS Contents

The 53rd GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting (TWG-53) was held on 23 April 2024 in Lijiang, People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was hosted by Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of PRC, Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the People's Government of Lijiang City, and Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), and co-organized by Lijiang Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, and Network of International Culturalink Entities. It was attended by senior and mid-level officials representing the National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries (Cambodia, PRC, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand-online, and Viet Nam), MTCO, Asian Development Bank (ADB), development partners and organizations including the ASEAN China Centre and ASEAN Japan Centre.

This report shows how improving gender mainstreaming via the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) can bolster inclusivity and ensure women benefit equally from regional cooperation initiatives.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program aims to broaden the gains of its interventions across three key pillars: community, connectivity, and competitiveness. In line with the GMS Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030), the GMS seeks to ensure equal access and participation in opportunities arising from the Program through the GMS Gender Strategy.

On 26 April 2024, the Kingdom of Cambodia hosted the second Mekong Dialogue on Labour Mobility, chaired by H.E. Mr. Hou Vudthy, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training of Cambodia. This dialogue was conducted within the framework of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program and with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Its primary aim was to enhance cooperation on labor mobility through a multi-stakeholder approach among the Mekong countries and development partners

The 3rd Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Energy Transition Task Force (ETTF-3) took place in Manila on 5─6 June 2024 in a hybrid format. Following ETTF-3, a workshop on electricity market principles was held on 7 June, co-organized by the Asian Development Bank and the ADB Institute, in collaboration with Standford University.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Regional Investment Framework 2024–2026 (RIF 2026) is the subsequent 3-year rolling pipeline of projects of the GMS Program. It is comprised of 128 projects across the countries and sectors of the GMS program. The projects in the RIF 2026 will require mobilizing financial resources amounting to $17.7 billion from development partners, the private sector, and the countries’ national and regional budgets.