Transport and Trade Facilitation

Countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion are working to make the movement of goods and services across borders faster, easier, cheaper, more compliant, and more inclusive.

Over the past decade, the Greater Mekong Subregion’s (GMS) road network has expanded by almost 200,000 kilometers, and overland road freight has almost doubled. Yet despite these advances, remaining barriers to trade and transport continue to inhibit the subregion’s full economic potential and the cost of cross-border land transport remains high.

With much of the hard infrastructure in place, there has been a greater focus in recent years on the rules, regulations, agreements, and other “software” to make the movement of goods and services across borders in the GMS faster, easier, cheaper, more compliant, and more inclusive.

The GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) focus on trade facilitation will modernize customs and establish sanitary and phytosanitary regulations. It will also strengthen links to the private sector. GMS-2030 will support the development of e-commerce platforms in the subregion. By facilitating investment, the strategy will ease or eliminate investment flow constraints and create an integrated investment market. GMS-2030 was endorsed and adopted at the 7th GMS Summit of Leaders in September 2021. It aims to provide a new setting for the development of this subregion for the next decade.

The GMS Transport and Trade Facilitation Action Program is working to overcome existing barriers in order to link the subregion to the ASEAN Economic Community’s single market and production base, as well as other regional cooperation initiatives.

The program is helping to expand transport and traffic rights along the GMS Cross Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA). route network; simplify and modernize customs procedures and border management; and strengthen the capacity of sanitary and phytosanitary agencies in the subregion.

To facilitate progressive implementation of the CBTA, the GMS Transport Ministers as members of the CBTA Joint Committee have agreed to an “Early Harvest” memorandum of understanding to allow the issuance and mutual recognition of GMS Road Transport Permits along the CBTA Protocol 1 route network and the border crossing points along these routes starting August 2018.

Related

• ‘Early Harvest’ Implementation of the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement

• Joint Committee for the CBTA

• Statement of the Seventh Meeting of the Joint Committee for the CBTA (13 March 2019)

Contact Persons

Focal Persons at the Asian Development Bank

Trade Facilitation

  • Kanya Sasradipoera and Yuya Yamamoto
    Public Management, Financial Sector, & Trade Division,
    Southeast Asia Department
  • Dorothea Lazaro
    Public Management, Financial Sector, & Regional Coop Division,
    East Asia Department

Transport Facilitation

    Transport Facilitation

    • Mohammad Nazrul Islam
      Transport and Communications Division,
      Southeast Asia Department
    • Antonio Ressano
      Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
      Southeast Asia Department
    • Alma Canarejo
      Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
      Southeast Asia Department/GMS Secretariat

    Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat.

    ADB’s new partnership strategy for Viet Nam is anchored on the recognition that the country needs tailor-made solutions to best meet its development challenges. Photo by ADB. 

    ADB Launches New Country Partnership Strategy for Viet Nam

    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new country partnership strategy (CPS) for Viet Nam covering the period 2023–2026. The strategy will help promote inclusive, green, and private sector-led development in Viet Nam and build a foundation for the country to achieve its goal of becoming upper middle-income by 2030.

    Bavet Checkpoint: Moc Bai, Vietnam / Bavet, Cambodia on Route 1 to Phnom Penh. 2011 Gerhard Jörén/ADB.

    GMS Member Countries Look Forward to Setting the ‘Early Harvest’ Implementation of the CBTA Back on Track

    GMS member countries are looking forward to setting the ‘Early Harvest’ Implementation of the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA) back on track. This was emphasized by the GMS countries at the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-25) of the GMS Program held on 14 June 2022. 

    Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane via Xinhua

    PRC-Lao PDR Railway Launches Freight Transit Yard to Boost Transshipment of Goods to Thailand

    A freight transit yard where cargo is transferred for transshipment has been put into operation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) Railway on 1 July 2022 at the Vientiane South Station.  The freight yard promises to boost the PRC-Lao PDR railway’s logistics, improving the link between the railways of PRC-Lao PDR and Thailand.  

    7th Mekong–Lancang Cooperation Adopts Joint Statements on Cooperation in Agriculture and Trade Facilitation

    Foreign ministers of Mekong–Lancang Cooperation member countries vowed to strengthen their cooperation in economic integration, agriculture and food security, green development, innovation, public health and people-to-people exchanges, at the 7th Mekong - Lancang Cooperation meeting. 

    The meeting adopted four joint statements on strengthening agricultural cooperation, disaster prevention, customs and trade facilitation, and exchanges between MLC civilizations. 







    Pages