Regional Cooperation and Integration (RCI)
Across Asia and the Pacific, ADB is working to promote cross-border infrastructure, trade integration, financial links, and regional public goods.
The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program was established in 1992 by Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China (specifically, Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In September 2021, the GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) was endorsed and adopted at the 7th GMS Leaders’ Summit. GMS-2030 envisions a more integrated, prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive subregion. It established a new Mission Statement for the GMS Program: a subregional cooperation program focused on the fundamental strengths of the 3 Cs—community, connectivity, and competitiveness—while embracing the core principles of environmental sustainability and resilience, internal and external integration, and inclusivity, for building a GMS community with a bright shared future.
To accelerate the progress of achieving the objectives of the GMS-2030, GMS Leaders endorsed the GMS Innovation Strategy for Development 2030 (ISD 2030) at the 8th GMS Leaders' Summit in Kunming, PRC, on 7 November 2024. Together with GMS-2030, ISD 2030 will guide GMS cooperation over the next 5 years, with a focus on digitalization, the green transition, and connectivity across all priority sectors to promote more sustainability, growth, and inclusivity in the GMS.
The three pillars of the GMS Program—Community, Connectivity, Competitiveness (3 Cs)—aim to
GMS member countries pursue a pragmatic, action-oriented approach in identifying and implementing high-priority subregional projects across the following sectors: (i) agriculture, (ii) energy, (iii) environment, (iv) health cooperation, (v) tourism, (vi) transport, (vii) trade and investment facilitation, and (viii) urban development. Sector priorities are as follows:
The GMS 2030 Kunming Strategic Framework for Transformation of Agrifood Systems outlines a strategy for transforming the agrifood trade as a crucial economic driver through sustainable farming systems, low-carbon and climate resilient value chains, digital technologies, and financing mechanisms to enhance livelihoods, reduce food loss, and meet the rising demand for safe, high quality, and green products.
The GMS Program supports a just transition to low-carbon and renewable energy by expanding clean energy trade, improving efficiency, and fostering regional cooperation through the Energy Transition Task Force. It is actively involved in ASEAN Power Grid discussions to strengthen multilateral and regional power trade.
Guided by the GMS 2030 Strategic Framework for Accelerating Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability, the GMS Program prioritizes actions to accelerate implementation of selected GMS-wide interventions towards meeting the national and international commitments on climate resilience, greenhouse gas mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and environmental sustainability.
The GMS Regional Health Cooperation Strategy 2024-2030 emphasizes health issues that are regional in nature and require collective action to address. It has two strategic pillars: regional health security and health system strengthening toward universal health coverage.
GMS tourism drives sustainable tourism development by promoting diverse, high-value, and sustainable destinations, strengthening infrastructure and human capital, and enhancing destination marketing. The GMS Tourism Sector Strategy 2016–2025 is broadly aligned with the ASEAN Tourism Strategic Plan 2016–2025.
GMS transport initiatives focus on developing integrated transport networks and logistics, improving safety, and facilitating efficient cross-border movement under a unified strategy to boost connectivity and support communities. It is guided by the GMS Transport Sector Strategy 2030.
The GMS Program accelerates trade and investment by streamlining cross-border procedures, supporting foreign direct investment, and providing strategic guidance through the GMS Working Group on Trade and Investment.
Urban development focuses on investing in infrastructure for growing cities along transport corridors, transforming them into economic hubs while promoting green, inclusive, and crisis-resilient urban planning.
Guided by GMS-2030, GMS member countries are implementing innovative approaches across critical cross-cutting areas to effectively address new and important challenges faced by the subregion and leverage longer-term trends. These areas include (i) digital revolution; (ii) enhanced spatial approach; (iii) dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and capacity building; (iv) private sector solutions; (v) GMS as an open platform; and (vi) results framework.
The GMS Digital Economy Cooperation Initiative provides a framework for cooperation among GMS countries to promote inclusive digitalization and the use of advanced technologies in all GMS Program activities and projects. The GMS Digitalization Action Plan (2025–2027) provides thorough guidance for GMS governments to prioritize, operationalize, and concretize the digitalization of their economies. It provides a set of overarching actions, as well as sector-specific initiatives, that GMS economies can implement collectively and individually while considering the specific needs and capabilities of individual GMS countries.
The GMS Results Framework tracks the implementation of GMS-2030 and its progress toward achieving the vision and program mission. It has three levels of results indicators designed to (i) assess the progress toward the attainment of the GMS vision of a more integrated, prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable subregion; (ii) measure the outcomes and outputs of GMS Program’s interventions and initiatives under the three Cs; and (iii) track the overall effectiveness of the GMS Program’s institutions, success in mobilizing resources and generation, and delivery of quality knowledge relevant to the needs of the program.
A regional approach to advancing gender equality in the GMS would support the efforts of individual countries on gender equality and social inclusion, which is intrinsically linked to development, prosperity, and sustainability. The GMS Gender Strategy aims to (i) improve the GMS Program’s existing methods for gender mainstreaming; (ii) complement subregional efforts to address gender barriers to participating in and benefiting from regional cooperation; and (iii) address pervasive gender norms. The GMS Gender Strategy Implementation Plan 2025–2030 provides the activities to develop the GMS Program’s capacity to move toward achieving these three objectives.
The GMS Regional Investment Framework is a 3-year rolling pipeline of priority projects across GMS Program sectors of cooperation. The latest RIF 2025–2027, approved in November 2024 by the GMS Leaders, is comprised of 176 projects. These require mobilizing financial resources worth 26ドル.4 billion from development partners, the private sector, and countries’ national and regional budgets. The latest pipeline includes some innovative pilot and technical assistance projects, as well as large-scale, mega infrastructure projects.
GMS Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division Southeast Asia Department
Asian Development Bank
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ADB serves as secretariat or advisor for the following subregional programs.
The BIMP-EAGA initiative was launched in 1994 as a cooperation initiative to close the development gap across and within the EAGA member countries.
The CAREC Program is a partnership of 11 countries and development partners working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand are neighbors sharing close historical, cultural, and linguistic ties.
The SASEC Program brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership to build a better quality of life for the people of the subregion.
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ADB is a leading multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. Working with its members and partners to solve complex challenges together, ADB harnesses innovative financial tools and strategic partnerships to transform lives, build quality infrastructure, and safeguard our planet.
Founded in 1966, ADB is owned by 69 members—50 from the region.
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