The fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) and its new technologies carry potential for connecting the GMS and CLV economies in non-traditional methods, which will surpass the bounds of GMS founders’ imagination from 25 years ago, PM Phuc said. Nonetheless, to develop a prosperous, sustainable and integrated GMS, the countries need to ensure sustainable and harmonious development, he added, emphasising that “growth must go hand-in-hand with protection of the ecology and natural resources, especially the sustainable management and use of the Mekong River.” As “harmony” is a traditional value of Asia, every national development plan, investment or business activity, or cooperation programme between the GMS countries needs to ensure the harmony and balance of interests among countries, governments, businesses and people, the Vietnamese government leader noted. Vietnam is increasing the flow of investment in transport infrastructure on the main GMS economic corridors, he said, adding that the Government of Vietnam is currently translating initiatives into reality through prioritising investment in connectivity infrastructure to support cross-border trade, investment, tourism, agriculture and economy, as well as other forms of cross-border economic cooperation. Bundik said cooperation is inevitable and link of networks and infrastructure will support the member countries to reduce production costs and further improve competitiveness. Based on its strategic location and speed of development, Vietnam has a key role in the regional economic cooperation, according to Bundik. “Vietnam is such a large and diverse country, and very complex issues should be managed. The economic growth is outstanding, the big metropolis like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have eminent positions in many international comparison, the growth of the wealth of High Net Worth Individuals is the highest in the world. However, in the rural areas still so many things to support and change, even in terms of access to electricity,” he said. Industry 4.0, especially robotics, are key challenges for every emerging markets in the 21st century, but even for developed countries it can be a game changer, he said. “Education is the key, we in Europe has the latest technology, and we are very happy to bring these technologies to Vietnam, also we have state-of-the-art education and we traditionally partners of Vietnam in this fields,” he added. “Good education, competitive, creative labour force will be the answer for the challenges of Industry 4.0”, he suggested.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said: “We should all acknowledge that the economic development of the GMS countries has benefited greatly from the increased flow of cross-border trade in goods and services. In this regard, the GMS countries should continue to draw on trade liberalisation, and offer support for open trade and regional multilateral trading system.”

Since e-commerce or digital econo𒁏my can be a key growth driver if the right policies are in place, the GMS countries need to improve cross-border payment systems to make payment faster and more efficient; facilitate cross-border e-commerce customs procedures for low value shipments; and improve e-commerce supporting service systems, he recommended.

Mekong – river of cooperation and development

The 4,800 km-long Mekong River flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its basin spreads over 795,000 square kilometres in the four countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

The GMS economies have become more and more integrated with each other thanks to the subregion’s pursuance of more liberal trade policies. The intra-GMS trade shares increased from 5.7 percent in 2010 (201 billion USD) to 9.1 percent in 2016 (414 billion USD). Total GMS foreign direct investment inflows among the member nations increased from 436 million USD in 2010 to 1.28 billion USD in 2016.

Throughout its 25 years of development, the GMS has never seen a standstill. As reported by the ADB, over the last quarter of the century, the annual economic growth of the subregion averaged 6.3 percent.

ADB President Takehiko Nak🍰ao said he has a great optimistic view about the future continuous growth of the GMS countries.

There are six reasons for this, he said. First, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are growing at a pace of 7 percent. That means in ten years, the size of their economies will double.

Secondly, this growth is the result of strong value chains in East Asia and the world and it is more based on domestic and regional demand, instead of just exports to other regions.

Thirdly, this growth has been supported by good policies, such as sound macroeconomic policies, open trade and investment regimes, and market-oriented reforms.

Fourthly, the GMS countries are well positioned geographically to connect South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Fifthly, the growth from innovation will benefit the GMS countries, building on a well-educated and hard-working population.

Last but not least, the GMS countries’ development is backed by a strong sense of cooperation and frameworks for working together through such mechanisms as the GMS.

The GMS Programme has supported projects worth 21 billion USD since its establishment in 1992 in sectors such as transport, tourism, health, urban development, environment, human resource development, agriculture, and energy. About 40 percent of the financing for the projects have come from the ADB, 25 percent from the GMS governments, and the rest from bilateral and multilateral development partners. Each GMS country programme is designed to suit its unique situation.

Based on the Hanoi Action Plan and Regional Investment Framework, which were adopted at the 6th GMS Summit, the programme is expected to support 227 projects worth 66 billion USD from 2018 to 2022, of which the ADB will finance 7 bilℱlion USD. The Plan calls for an expansion of economic corridors to boost connectivity between countries, as well as between rural and urban centres, to ensure a more equitable distribution of th💦e benefits of economic growth.-VNA