Southeast Asia Rising from the Pandemic
This publication offers a comprehensive regional-level analysis and gives a rundown of how eight Southeast Asian countries dealt with and are now beginning to recover from COVID-19.
GMS Contents
Moeun Yada from Prey Sangha Village, Kgnach Romeas commune, Bavel district in Battambang province, Cambodia. Photo by Sokunthea Chor/ADB.
COVID-19 Food Security Response and Recovery Actions in Cambodia
The workshop “COVID-19 Food Security Response and Recovery Actions in Cambodia” was held virtually on 3 March 2022. It was led by Cambodia’s national coordinator of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Working Group on Agriculture (WGA), and attended by about 50 representatives from the government, development partners and the private sector. The workshop discussed priority actions for agriculture and food security in accelerating Cambodia’s response and recovery from COVID-19.
The crowds are sparse in the ordinarily busy district of Chinatown in SIngapore. Shop owners estimate that business has dropped by 50% due to the COVID-19 crisis. 2020 Lester Ledesma/ADB.
Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Hub Launched at SEADS 2022
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Southeast Asia Sustainable Tourism Hub on 17 March 2022 at the third Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS).
Southeast Asia’s tourism industry is still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To accelerate an inclusive and sustainable recovery, ADB is increasing its support for investments, capacity development, and knowledge.
Southeast Asia Development Symposium 2022
The pandemic has had a deep and profound impact throughout Southeast Asia. Many of the region’s hard-won gains in reducing poverty, creating jobs, and enhancing health and well-being have been reversed, with the poor and vulnerable particularly hard-hit.
Photo by Jacques Beaulieu/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Urban Management Platform Fosters Discussion on Urban Development in Vientiane
The Urban Management Platform of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to tackle urban development policies and issues in Vientiane, such as land administration, investment in urban development, and revision of the transport master plan. The first meeting reviewed current land management practices. Government officials and JICA specialists attended, reported the Vientiane Times on 18 February 2022.
Lao PDR Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn. Photo by Lao PDR Foreign Ministry
Electricity Trade Boosts Cambodia-Lao PDR Bilateral Trade
Electricity trade between Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic raised the annual value of bilateral trade to more than $100 million in 2020 from a previous value of $10 million-$20 million. This was noted by Cambodia Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and Lao Foreign Affairs Minister Saleumxay Kommasith in their meeting on 16 February. Mr. Kommasith was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 15-17 February 2022 to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat.
The 4th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion Working Group on Health Cooperation
The Asian Development Bank and the Ministry of Health of Viet Nam convened the 4th GMS Health Sector Working Group Meeting on 8 December 2021. The theme was “Solidarity through Information Exchange for COVID-19 Immunization in the GMS”.
IOM Report Examines the Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 on Migrant Workers in GMS Countries
Migrant workers are essential to economic and social development across the Greater Mekong Subregion. They compensate for a growing shortage of labor and contribute substantially towards the economic well-being of many households through remittances.
A cruise ship in Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam. Photo by Bryan Lippincott (CC BY-ND 2.0)
ASEAN Tourism Ministers Make Plans to Gradually Reopen ASEAN Tourism
The 25th Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers held on 19 January 2022 in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, exchanged views on the way forward for the recovery of the region’s tourism industry. Bearing the theme “ASEAN – A Community of Peace and Shared Future,” the Meeting discussed the impact of COVID-19 on each ASEAN member state and emphasized the development of the tourism sector amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Decline in Tourist Growth
Waterfall in Phnom Kulen, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo by Kim Seng (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Ecotourism to be Developed in Cambodia's Siem Reap, Kampong Speu, and Koh Kong Provinces
The Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment plans to develop and establish ecotourism in protected areas of Siem Reap, Kampong Speu, and Koh Kong provinces under the “Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project.”
Areas that will potentially be developed include the Preah Jayavarman-Norodom National Park “Phnom Kulen”; the Oral Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and the Central Cardamom Mountain National Park; and the Tatai and Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuaries.
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A subregional cooperation program focused on its fundamental strengths of 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
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226
