Mekong Institute and Thai Beverage Logistics Company (TBL) are partnering to build logistics capacities and drive forward cross-border trading in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). The collaboration is formalized today with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by MI Executive Director Dr. Watcharas Leelawath and TBL Deputy Managing Director for Strategy and Planning, Dr. Sugris Limphothong.  

Under the five-year agreement, MI and TBL will be jointly undertaking collaborative research projects, trainings and workshops, as well as promoting exchange in formation and publications with the view of developing the GMS resource and information network.

“This cooperation with TBL is one of the ways that we at MI can fulfill our mission of fostering connectivity in the GMS,” Dr. Watcharas Leelawath said. According to him, at the policy level, MI works with government agencies through research and multi-sectoral dialogues to lessen obstacles in cross-border trade. This collaboration with TBL is particularly directed towards capacity building so GMS human resource can better serve logistics companies and promote efficiency of the regional logistics sector.

To kickstart the collaboration, MI, with the support of TBL and in cooperation with Khon Kaen University, is set to launch a training and field practicum on logistics and supply chain management this month, targeting university students from selected universities in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

Thai Beverage Logistics Company Limited is a subsidiary company of Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, specializing in the areas of logistics infrastructure and network, multi-modal transportation, logistics IT platform and human resource capability development.