GMS in the News

Photo shows the participants of this year's regional training program together with the training team. Photo credit: ADB.

Honing Project Management Skills to Achieve Development Goals

Thirty-nine government officials and specialists joined this year’s Regional Training in Project Management organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Bangkok from 5 to 9 May. The training program is designed to support the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in project planning and implementation. It fosters a results-based project management approach that aligns projects to sector strategies.

Construction of High Speed Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong Railway to Begin

Viet Nam is set to begin construction of a new 417-kilometer railway line connecting the northern port city of Haiphong to Kunming, People’s Republic of China (PRC), via Hanoi and Lao Cai Province. The initiative, with an estimated investment of about US$11 billion, aims to bolster trade and tourism between the two countries by enhancing connectivity and facilitating smoother transportation of goods and people.

ASEAN Federation of Forwarders Associations Emphasizes Intra-bloc Logistics Connectivity

The ASEAN Federation of Forwarders Associations (AFFA) met on 2 December 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for their 33rd annual meeting, and discussed facilitation of goods transportation via inter-governmental cooperation in the region. 

ASEAN countries have emphasized the development of logistics services, infrastructure, and trade facilitation measures, and promoting intra-bloc connectivity. 

 A cruise ship in Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam. Photo by Bryan Lippincott (CC BY-ND 2.0)

ASEAN Tourism Ministers Make Plans to Gradually Reopen ASEAN Tourism    

The 25th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers held on 19 January 2022 in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, exchanged views on the way forward for the recovery of the region’s tourism industry. Bearing the theme “ASEAN – A Community of Peace and Shared Future,” the Meeting discussed the impact of COVID-19 on each ASEAN member state and emphasized the development of the tourism sector amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. 

 

Decline in Tourist Growth 

Viet Nam Seeks Support from GZAR, PRC, to Facilitate Agri Export

Mr. Nguyen Hong Dien, Viet Nam’s Minister of Industry and Trade, requested support from Mr. Lu Xinshe, Party Secretary of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China (GZAR, PRC), to facilitate cross-border trade between Viet Nam and the PRC by (i) upgrading border gates, (ii) restoring customs services at sealed off border gates, and (iii) extending the operating hours of customs clearance services at border gates, border crossings, and markets.

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