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.
The Da Nang People’s Committee approved a project to develop the city’s logistics services and become a logistics center by 2030 for the central key economic region (KER) and the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC). The city also aims to become the key gateway to the EWEC and an important transport corridor link in Asia-Pacific by 2050.
Photo via Vientiane Times
Construction work on the 5th Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge has surpassed 72% completion, and is expected to be completely finished by the end of 2024. The bridge will connect Paksan, Bolikhamsai Province (Lao PDR) to Bueng Kan Province (Thailand) across the Mekong River. The bridge is set to further boost connectivity in the GMS.
ADB supports Thailand in responding to the health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, ADB provided $1.5 billion loan to help the country mitigate the negative economic impact of the pandemic.
This report compares the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with other free trade agreements and suggests how policy makers can promote its successful implementation.
Thailand will accelerate its railway connectivity, in line with the opening of the railway link between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in December 2021.
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) organized the CLMVT+ Forum 2021 on 24-26 August. The forum highlighted the TPSO study emphasizing the importance of achieving an even economic recovery in the GMS.
Trade promotion agencies of Cambodia, India, Thailand, and Viet Nam held an event promoting cross-border trade connectivity between India and countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) on 19 August. Representatives from each country gave briefings on their business environment and exchanged experiences in facilitating trade and investment cooperation. Noting challenges caused by COVID-19, they urged governments to take measures to help their small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) move beyond national borders and expand markets.
The Thai Durian Association called on the Government of Thailand to ease the bottleneck hindering durian exports to the People's Republic of China (PRC) by linking Thailand's rail network with the Lao PDR-PRC railway. The railway offers a potential route for durian shipments to the PRC, where there is huge demand for the fruit. Mr. Phanusak Saiphanich, chairman of the association, notes there is currently no connection between the Thai rail network and the Lao PDR-PRC railway.
Meeting photo via Viet Nam Plus
The second Mekong-U.S. Partnership Ministerial Meeting held on 2 August 2021 unveiled four flagship projects under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, and noted the 8.5 million vaccine doses and over $58 million in U.S. COVID-19 assistance to the Mekong subregion countries.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226