GMS in the News

The annual Mekong Tourism Forum returns as an in-person event in Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia, on 25–27 April 2023. Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Kingdom of Cambodia, the Forum’s theme is “Rethinking for Resilience and Digitalization.” 

The Forum provides an interactive platform for regional tourism stakeholders to discuss critical issues and emerging trends, rethink the future of Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) tourism, exchange insights and experiences, as well as reconnect face-to-face with each other.  

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today joined the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) to announce $35 million to help boost energy access and the energy transition in South and Southeast Asia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced a grant of $1.3 million to advance disaster risk management in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through technical assistance (TA). The TA will support the implementation of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response Work Programme, 2021–2025, which will strengthen regional cooperation on understanding, reducing, and managing transboundary risks.

An Asian Development Bank (ADB) article underscores that collective action helped contribute to combating the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and notes that expanding and deepening cross-border cooperation in Asia and the Pacific will help the region navigate newer economic challenges and the worsening climate crisis. The support that ADB and other development partners have extended to countries in managing the various impact from the pandemic has provided valuable lessons on tackling oncoming threats. 

The global community has gathered at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022, for the COP27 climate conference 

The COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the key decision-making forum of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change and its impacts.

The first webinar on the Water-Food-Energy (WFE) nexus was conducted on 24 March 2022 to introduce the Nexus concept and discuss the relevance of Nexus trade-offs – these define trade-offs between water, food, and energy security – for stakeholders in GMS countries. The latter confirmed that the Nexus is of high relevance for decision makers and planners in all GMS countries as traditional processes have occurred in sector silos often triggering substantial unintended cross-sector trade-offs.

The 26th GMS WGE Annual Meeting will discuss key challenges and possible solutions for the region in the light of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and in preparation on their pathway to the upcoming COP27 and COP15 in 2022.

In commemoration of 30 years of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) program, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) hosted a "Lecture on Dividends of Peace: Lessons from the Establishment and Early Years of the GMS Program" on 25 October 2022. Former ADB Programs Department (West) Director General Noritada Morita shared his account of the history, evolution, and contributions of the GMS program.

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.