GMS Contents

The 20th Annual Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Working Group on Agriculture (WGA) was held on 10–12 May 2023 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The meeting underscored the need to enhance (i) subregional cooperation on green and climate resilient agri-food value chains, and (ii) green financing of small and medium agribusinesses. The meeting also confirmed four priority action points by the WGA, and discussed the planned new agriculture sector strategy.

Digital skills are increasing in demand in Asia and the Pacific, with 75% of employers in four countries reporting a rise in demand for new hires with digital skills over the last 5 years, according to a new joint report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and LinkedIn.

Southeast Asian countries can benefit from investments in green infrastructure, digital transformation, big data, and revenue mobilization through tax reform as the region recovers from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, said Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa at the second Southeast Asia Development Symposium.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its partners will collectively zero in on strategies and policy responses that countries can adopt to lay the groundwork for post-COVID-19 recovery at the upcoming Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) Innovation through Collaboration: Planning for Inclusive Post-COVID-19 Recovery. 

The first Friends of the Mekong Policy Dialogue under the new Mekong-U.S. Partnership was convened by the United States of America (USA) and Viet Nam on 12 January 2021.

The 8th Mekong–Republic of Korea (RoK) Business Forum acknowledged how the RoK and the Mekong countries sustained their trade to 2019 levels amid the pandemic by upholding their trade relations. The Forum was held on 4 December in-person in Hanoi, Viet Nam, and online. 

Japan and Mekong countries convened the 12th Mekong-Japan Summit on 13 November, cochaired by Japan Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The meeting underscored Japan’s strong commitment to the Mekong subregion and reviewed progress of cooperation between Japan and Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic [PDR], Thailand, Myanmar, and Viet Nam) as guided by the "Tokyo Strategy 2018." The Strategy seeks to strengthen connectivity, improve human resource development, and enhance environmental protection.

The 6th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting held virtually on 2 October acknowledged ADB’s efforts in operationalizing the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) as a platform for ASEAN green infrastructure under the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF).