The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program will begin its third decade in 2012. Since its inception, the program has achieved noteworthy successes in fostering cooperation in a region that, at the commencement of the program, was emerging from a period of prolonged conflict. The program has built a reputation as a flexible, results-oriented, project-delivering vehicle for promoting regional cooperation and contributing to economic growth and poverty reduction as well as to the provision of regional public goods. Increased recognition of the benefits of regional cooperation is manifested in the evolution of regionalism both in Asia and more broadly. New institutions have emerged while others have become more vigorous. Within this context of evolving regionalism, the GMS Program remains highly relevant. The start of a new decade is an opportune time for the GMS Program to assess its achievements and develop this new strategic framework for 2012–2022. The new strategic framework builds on the substantial progress the program has made and the likely global and regional trends. It also builds on the commitment that member countries have made in their national development plans to the promotion of regional integration, and will guide the efforts of member countries to steer the program during the new decade to the next level in terms of results.

The Greater Mekong Subregion Human Resource Development Strategic Framework and Action Plan (2013–2017) reflects changing circumstances, including the development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic corridors as an important GMS priority. The goal of the human resource development strategy is to foster sustainable subregional human resource development, thereby contributing to increased subregional competitiveness, connectivity, and community. This document outlines the GMS human resource development strategy that will be implemented through the following---developing capacity in the economic corridors; cooperating in technical and vocational education and training; cooperating in higher education and research; addressing regional health issues; facilitating safe cross-border labor migration; mitigating social costs in the economic corridors; and strengthening institutions and mechanisms for GMS human resource development cooperation.

This Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Urban Development Strategic Framework, 2015-2022 sets out a broad framework to encourage and facilitate a coordinated approach to the development of urban areas throughout the GMS. The framework includes three pillars: (i) planning and development of key urban areas, (ii) planning and development of border areas, and (iii) capacity development in urban planning and management. Underlying these are four crosscutting themes---green development and climate change resilience, disaster risk management, inclusive development, and competitiveness. The GMS Urban Development Strategic Framework also provides the context for ongoing and planned projects in the six GMS member countries.

Global Perspectives on Soft Power Management in Business provides a comprehensive exploration of the impactful role of soft power in influencing socio-economic dynamics. In today's interconnected world, soft power drives economic growth through the dissemination of beliefs, cultures, shared norms, and popular trends, creating a country's brand image. This edited volume brings together scholars from diverse academic backgrounds to objectively discuss and analyze the sustainable management, design thinking, and integration of soft power. The book delves into the pros and cons of soft power impact, explores soft power knowledge management in different industries, examines soft power marketing and presentation strategies, and investigates the relationship between technology and soft power. Moreover, it emphasizes that success in the global marketplace is not solely reliant on technological advancements, but also on the added value of products through sophisticated services—a concept encompassed by soft power. This book proves invaluable to undergraduate and graduate students studying business, cultural, and hospitality management, as well as professionals in public and private organizations, universities, professors and lecturers, policy makers, and those in the film and music industry.

This report presents an assessment of the links among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the three subregional programs (Greater Mekong Subregion [GMS], Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area [BIMP-EAGA], Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle [IMT-GT], and the ASEAN) and is the first study that explicitly maps and analyzes the strategic program and institutional links among the three subregional programs and ASEAN. The report is based on desk reviews of official documents; national consultations with governments and private stakeholders; consultations with the secretariats of the three programs and ASEAN; commissioned studies by Asian Development Bank and other international organizations; and independent assessments by academics, practitioners, and research institutions by academics, practitioners, and research institutions.

This book examines the strategic and economic logic behind the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar (BCIM) Regional Cooperation. According to estimates, BCIM covers approximately 9 percent of the world’s mass and 40 percent of the world’s population spanning across four countries, constituting the confluence of East, Southeast and South Asia. It contributes about 13 percent to world trade but ironically only 5 percent to inter-regional trade. This volume compares the various approaches to cooperation – trade-led vs project-led, geo-political vs geo-strategic, Sino-centric vs India-led. The chapters explore the complex interplay of geo-economics and geo-politics associated with BCIM sub-regional cooperation in general, and the BCIM Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) in particular. It points to the current challenges that impede globalisation and economic growth, and critically reviews implications for the stakeholders, institutional frameworks and the spatial impact of the Corridor, especially on the underdeveloped regions. The book discusses the geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic advantages that will accrue to the member countries once the sub-regional cooperation becomes fully functional. It advocates the adoption of best practices from similar sub-regional groupings across the globe. This book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, geo-politics, strategic studies, sub-regional cooperation, South Asian studies, India–China relations, foreign trade and economics, besides those dealing with foreign policy and development cooperation. It will especially benefit policymakers, development agencies and strategic think tanks.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) includes Cambodia, the People's Republic of China (specifically Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. In 1992, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and building on their shared histories and cultures, the six countries launched a program of subregional economic cooperation---the GMS Program. Over the past 20 years, the GMS Program has achieved substantial success in improving regional connectivity through investments of $15 billion as well as more than 180 technical assistance projects. With support of ADB and other development partners, the program is helping the participating countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals and balanced growth through increased connectivity, improved competitiveness, and a greater sense of community.

Institutional activities have remarkably transformed East Asia, a region once known for the absence of regionalism and regime-building efforts. Yet the dynamics of this Asian institutionalization have remained an understudied area of research. This book offers one of the first scholarly attempts to clarify what constitutes institutionalization in East Asia and to systematically trace the origins, discern the features, and analyze the prospects of ongoing institutionalization processes in the world’s most dynamic region. Institutionalizing East Asia comprises eight essays, grouped thematically into three sections. Part I considers East and Southeast Asia as focal points of inter-state exchanges and traces the institutionalization of inter-state cooperation first among the Southeast Asian states and then among those of the wider East Asia. Part II examines the institutionalization of regional collaboration in four domains: economy, security, natural disaster relief, and ethnic conflict management. Part III discusses the institutionalization dynamics at the sub-regional and inter-regional levels. The essays in this book offer a useful source of reference for scholars and researchers specializing in East Asia, regional architecture, and institution-building in international relations. They will also be of interest to postgraduate and research students interested in ASEAN, the drivers and limits of international cooperation, as well as the role of regional multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific region.

This book investigates the origins and dynamics of sub-regional phenomena based on international river basins, namely the Mekong and Danube rivers. It emphasizes the integration process of the Greater Mekong Sub-region and the European Strategy for the Danube Region, which are located in two different geopolitical and structural settings—one in Southeast Asia in the regional context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the other in Central and Eastern Europe within the regional context of the EU. By comparing two unique case studies within different structural settings, additional and valuable insights into the occurrence and formation of sub-regional integration processes are provided, enabling an evaluation of similarities and differences. Understanding sub-regional integration dynamics requires not only ‘looking upward’ to the regional and even the global level, but indeed ‘looking downwards’ to the local level. After all, sub-regional integration processes are generally described as ‘bottom-up’ processes, based on local interests and expectations. Despite the growing number of sub-regional projects, sub-regionalism remains inadequately studied in the field of political science, and, as such, this book offers unique contributions to the understanding of sub-regional integration processes. Consequently, it will be of interest to readers who are interested in regional and sub-regional integration processes, as well as those with a specific interest in both the EU and ASEAN geographic regions.

Differentiated cooperation and GMS cooperation provide a theoretical model and practical example to coordinate the relationship and to promote economic and political cooperation between large and small states for the purpose of economic, political, and social development on the national, regional, and international stages.