A new bridge now links the border towns of Myawaddy in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand.

The second Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge over the Moei river opened on 19 March, news reports said. It is expected to boost trade, tourism, and investments in the East–West Economic Corridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). A one-stop border checkpoint will facilitate the transport of people and goods, and reduce the time spent at the border.

Thailand is Myanmar’s third biggest source of foreign investments, and trade between the two countries has been increasing.

The two countries have agreed this week to implement the Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA) initially at Myawaddy and Mae Sot with the first and second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridges as border crossing points.

The CBTA is a flagship initiative under the GMS Program to promote transport and trade facilitation. The six Mekong countries have agreed on the “early harvest” implementation of the CBTA, which allowed each country to issue up to 500 GMS road transport permits and temporary admission documents for goods and passenger vehicles registered, owned and/or operated in that country. Vehicles can travel on any of the routes and across any of the border crossings listed in the CBTA Protocol 1.

Read the news reports at Bangkok Post and The Irrawaddy.