Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta, Mekong Institute (MI) Trade and Investment Facilitation Director, underscored the need for deeper public-private collaboration to expedite Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic recovery at an online meeting with high-level business representatives on June 14, 2021.  

Hosted by the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT), the meeting was an opportunity to present MI’s contributions in helping increase GMS stakeholders’ access to international and cross-border trade by delivering capacity building, evidence-based studies, and advocacy support to ease the seamless movement of people, goods, and services against a pandemic landscape.

“In this challenging time, MI and its partners re-directed its focus on helping GMS governments, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to better apply strategies that will build more resilient industries,” Mr. Dutta said. He further explained that MI has reinforced its initiatives to expose more trade officials on the merits of database use to broaden awareness of each GMS country’s trade regulations and products, as well as to help SMEs adapt to digitalization and e-commerce to spur the resumption of business activities after prolonged travel and mobility restrictions.

The presentation was followed by a discussion on ways forward to promote inward and outward foreign direct investments and the harmonization of trade policies to boost intra-regional trade.

This is the second activity of MI and JFCCT in 2021. From March 24 to 26, 2021 both organizations were involved in the launch of the GMS Logistics Forum in Pattaya, Thailand. Attended by over 100 government leaders and business representatives, the two-day event was designed to showcase opportunities and progress in improving the efficiency of logistics and infrastructure processes to enhance Eastern Economic Corridor activities in the subregion.