Hanoi (VNA) - Countries in the Greater MekongSub-region (GMS) should enhance their economic and infrastructure connectivityto promote economic development in the sub-region, Deputy Minister of Planningand Investment Dang Huy Dong said at a forum on September 19.

Dong made his remarksduring the ninth GMS Economic Corridors Forum, themed “Deepening and WideningBenefits of the Economic Corridors through Inter-sectoral Synergies.” Theforum, co-organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment and theAsian Development Bank (ADB), attracted ministers, vice-ministers, seniorofficials, development partners and representatives of the private sector fromthe six GMS countries.

GMS co-operation in general and the forming of economic corridorsin particular, with the support of ADB and development partners, would help theGMS countries fully tap their development potential and achieve equitable andsustainable development, Dong said.

“The strengthening of co-operation within member countries in theGMS region would help us achieve a common strategy which is fortifyinglinkages, enhancing competitiveness and community spirit,” he added.

To achieve these goals, Dong stressed the need to improve thetransport system, particularly the transport links that formed the base of theenvisioned corridors, facilitating trade and hastening the development ofindustries along the economic corridors.

Ramesh Subramaniam, director general of the ADB’s Southeast AsiaDepartment, insisted on the need to build country-linking transport in multiplemodes, including roads, railway and inland waterways. But simply building theinfrastructure is not enough, he said.

“Deepening and widening connectivity along the GMS economiccorridors requires the upgrading and enhancement of transport infrastructure,but the crucial question now is how to ensure that these infrastructure linkswill yield their intended benefits in terms of increased trade flows,investment activity, industrial growth, employment, and incomes,” Subramaniamsaid.

According to ADB’s assessment, GMS countries should strengtheninfrastructure connectivity within the sub-region, boost the mobilisation offinance resources through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) form, reducenon-tariff barriers and facilitate trade within the GMS and between thesub-region and other regions.

The larger goal is to build a Greater Mekong Sub-region of peaceand stability in security and politics, dynamism and connectivity in economy,sustainability in the environment and harmony in social affairs.

The forum also discussed the promotion of environmentallysustainable power trade in the region; the mobilisation of private sectorinvestment into GMS infrastructure; local area development along the GMSeconomic corridors; ensuring the growth of regional e-commerce confers benefitsfor society; and the promotion of safe and environment-friendly agro-basedvalue chains in the GMS.

The GMS countries formedthe forum in 2008 to bolster efforts to ensure the region’s inter-countrytransit links facilitate not only the movement of people, but also trade andother economic activities.

The ADB has supported theestablishment of the East-West, North-South, and Southern GMS EconomicCorridors since 1998 to promote economic growth and integration in thesub-region.-VNA