The 44th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Working Group Meeting, held on 28-29 November 2019 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, was attended by more than 70 senior tourism officials and development partners. Delegations included national tourism organizations of the GMS countries, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ASEAN-China Center, the ASEAN-Korea Center, the ASEAN-Japan Center, Luxembourg Development, Pacific Asia Travel Association, and Mekong Institute.

The Governments of Thailand and Myanmar signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve immigration checkpoint and logistics clearances for cross-border trade in the Mae Sot (Thailand) and Myawaddy (Myanmar) checkpoint. The signing took place at the 23rd Ministerial Conference of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program.

The Governments of Thailand and Myanmar officially opened the second Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to traffic on 30 October 2019 in Tak province, Mae Sot district, Thailand. The bridge crosses over the Moei river, and connects the Mae Sot District of Thailand with Myawaddy in Myanmar.   

This report presents case studies of poverty reduction projects financed by the Asian Development Bank, including the Yunnan Integrated Road Network Development Project, which helped complete the national expressway system and constructed a highway from Kunming in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the Myanmar border.  

Viet Nam’s Lao Cai province has become a ‘promising destination for foreign investments,’ according to a feature on the Viet Nam Briefing, with its strategic location on the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Northern Economic Corridor and its connectivity to the southwestern region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Key sectors of investment in Lao Cai include construction, tourism, and a

Together We Deliver: Grants for a Brighter Future is a special edition of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) annual publication featuring stories of lives uplifted across Asia and the Pacific through grant financing by the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The ADF provides grants to support activities that reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in “ADF countries”—the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the region.