The 7th Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridors Forum was held in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province on June 11, passing Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Corridors Forum Ministers’ Joint Statement, Action Guideline of Strengthening Economic Corridors Forum Mechanism Construction and Framework Document on Cross-border E-Commerce Cooperation Platform.
The forum has held in-depth talks and reached extensive consensus on topics concerning implementing the Action Plan of Economic Corridors Strategy, formulating concept plans for specific project pilots of economic corridors, building cross-border e-commerce cooperation platform, promoting traffic and trade facilitation cooperation and enhancing the development of sub-regional economic cooperation zones. The next forum will be held in Cambodia in 2016.
The first forum was held in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province in 2008. After that, the member countries took the turn to host the forum. It’s the second time for China to host the forum this year. The main task of this year’s forum is to implement the fruits of 5th GMS Summit in 2014, further push the sub-region to transform from traffic corridors to economic corridors and make active efforts to solve problems along with local government and enterprises’ involvement in sub-regional economic cooperation.
Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said in his summary speech that the Ministers’ Joint Statement is an important step to implement the 5th GMS Summit consensus and will provide clear guidance for furthering economic corridors construction in the future.
The Ministers’ Joint Statement is committed to making joint efforts to transform GMS traffic corridors into economic corridors, seeking ways to promote regional trade and investment and make sure inclusive and sustainable development of GMS, applauding GMS secretary to formulate the Concept Plans to Promote Specific Projects Pilots of Economic Corridors, genuinely taking measures to implement the Action Plan of Economic Corridors Strategy and further promote local governments and other relevant units to participate in cooperation in specific projects and areas.
The Ministers’ Joint Statement starts to formulate the Traffic and Trade Facilitation Action Plan, covering various aspects of cross-border traffic instrument, material and personnel turnover and upgrading sub-regional traffic and trade facilitation level. It aims to promote to build special economic zones including the bilateral economic cooperation zones, border cooperation zones and industrial parks in chosen places in specific countries so as to promote and attract personnel, goods, capital, technology, information and other factors to move and accelerate the development of key borders and districts as well as the sub-region.
The Ministers’ Joint Statement agrees to establish a GMS E-commerce platform to promote the cross-border e-commerce enterprises within the region and to deepen the cooperation and increase opportunities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in international markets.
Minister Gao Hucheng and Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank Stephen Groff co-chaired the forum.
