Greater Mekong Subregion Development Partners' Meeting 2022

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program will hold a Development Partners’ Meeting (DPM) in Luang Prabang, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao DPR), on 7 December 2022. The DPM will be held before the 25th GMS Ministerial Conference on 8 December 2022.  

This year’s DPM will endeavor to reach new ground for the GMS program with a discussion of the results and recommendations of the Development Partners’ Study (DPs Study), “Deepening Development Partners’ Engagement in the GMS Program.” The DPM will solicit views of the DPs to map out the successful implementation and concrete next steps on the actions recommended by the DPs Study.  

Expected outcomes of the meeting are as follows:  

• Development Partners are apprised of GMS DPs Study findings and recommended actions. 

• Next steps, including priority activities, are identified to enable the DPs and GMS countries to efficiently implement the DPs Study’s recommended actions. 

• Greater understanding by DPs of the use of the new GMS Regional Investment Framework (RIF) 2023-2025 as an instrument for their own RCI pipeline development, project identification and preparation. 

• Shared perspectives by both DPs and countries on possible entry points for DPs in enhancing upstream engagement and programmatic approaches using the new RIF process.  

• Knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas among DPs and meeting participants on successful RCI projects in other regions. 

GMS countries continue to seek the assistance of the Asian Development Bank and other Development Partners in the GMS Program for financial, knowledge, and technical support. Such support covers financing of investment projects, as well as grants and technical assistance projects, knowledge and expertise. The GMS Economic Cooperation Strategic Framework 2030 has encouraged the GMS Program to undertake work in new, innovative areas, and to further emphasize themes cutting across its activities, such as migration, digitalization, gender, trade and investment. Development Partners can help the GMS Program in these areas with their knowledge, expertise, and experience. At the same time, the financing needs in the GMS Program remain large and are likely to grow as the Program expands into new areas. 

The Development Partners’ Meeting serves as a forum for discussions among GMS senior officials, representatives of development partners, private sector, and civil society that are actively involved in the GMS Program.