Lao officials discuss GMS investment projects
Lao officials discuss GMS investment projects
The Lao government held a workshop this week to discuss and select investment projects to be carried out under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Strategic Framework.
The workshop on the regional investment framework (RIF), which was organised by the Lao National Mekong Committee Secretariat and supported by the Asian Development Bank, also aimed to mainstream pipeline projects into the 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, serving as the National GMS Coordinator, together with all relevant ministries, institutions, provinces and districts, including the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, discussed the selection of priority projects to be included in the eight sectors of the RIF, according to Lao realities, characteristics and needs.
The RIF has identified eight priority sectors, namely agriculture, energy, environment, human resource development, transport, tourism, urban development and telecommunications.
The 18th Ministerial Conference of GMS Ministers provided clear guidance on the steady and effective realisation of the GMS Strategic Framework, namely the next steps in the RIF process and the efficient preparation of the pipeline projects.
Five principles were endorsed. One of the principles is to ensure investments for corridor development are demand driven, to balance external and domestic connectivity and trade, and carefully assess the regional dimensions of national projects and adopt a multi-sector approach, reflecting the focus on urban development and increasing the role of software or institutional and policy reforms in areas of cooperation.
Other principles are to recognise new and emerging priority areas, so-called second generation investments such as urban development linked to corridors, special economic zones, logistics, and investments linking remote areas with trade gateways, and to prioritise specific areas based on sound criteria and carefully design sequencing of projects.
It also emphasised the crucial need to have more and stronger involvement of the private sector in the elaboration and realisation of the RIF.
It is anticipated that the GMS Business Forum will play a major role from now, specifically in mobilising adequate resources to sustainably realise the coming RIF project pipelines.
The GMS Economic Cooperation Programme has substantially contributed to the steady increase of Laos' GDP. Laos, formerly known as the sole landlocked country in the region, is progressively becoming a land linked country among the GMS member countries.
The Regional Investment Framework will be further endorsed at the upcoming 19th GMS Ministerial Conference, of which Laos will be the host country and the chair.
vientiane times
