On March 25, 2024, Mr. Wanchat Suwannakitti, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council, in his capacity as National Secretary of the IMT-GT Program, participated in the 17th IMT-GT Strategic Planning Meeting in Tangerang, Republic of Indonesia, together with senior officials of the IMT-GT Program from the Republic of Indonesia and Malaysia, including: Dr. Edy Prio Pambudi Assistant Minister for Economic Coordination, Chairman of the Meeting, and Dato’ Dr. Zunika binti Mohamad Deputy Director-General for Policy, Ministry of Economy, along with representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), executives from the Centre of IMT-GT Subregional Cooperation (CIMT) as the IMT-GT Program Secretariat, and participants from public and private sector agencies from the 3 IMT-GT member countries
On this occasion, senior officials from all 3 countries were briefed on the implementation results under the Implementation Blueprint 2022-2026 (IB 2022-2026) and progress reports on the implementation of each cooperation sector under the IMT-GT Program as follows:
1. Agriculture and Agro-Industry Sector All 3 countries are accelerating implementation to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding on the Rubber City Project and Rubber Industry Cooperation in the IMT-GT Subregion to stimulate investment and enhance the development efficiency of rubber products, which will result in business facilitation and income distribution to rubber farmers. Additionally, emphasis is placed on food security and young farmer development in the IMT-GT subregion through innovation and capacity building in modern agricultural skills
2. Tourism Sector Progress has been made in implementing projects and activities under the IMT-GT Tourism Year Campaign 2023-2025 through awareness building in various forums and joint development of performance indicators, covering tourism marketing communication plans and tourist data collection in the subregion. Furthermore, discussions were held on cooperation with the Transport Connectivity Working Group to develop tourism route connectivity for IMT-GT countries
3. Halal Products and Services Sector Continuous implementation under the Strategic Halal Industry Collaboration Task Force serves as a mechanism for developing trade and investment in the halal industry, including ongoing joint implementation of the Halal route project to strengthen connectivity of small, medium, and micro halal enterprises from all 3 countries, and acknowledgment of progress in halal food, product, and service certification standards to help drive the IMT-GT halal industry to global market acceptance
4. Transport Connectivity Sector Implementation under Physical Connectivity Projects (PCPs) has made concrete progress, particularly high-priority projects such as the Second Golok River Bridge (Sungai Golok-Rantau Panjang) and the Hat Yai-Padang Besar Double Track Railway construction project. However, challenges are recognized in developing joint connectivity projects among all 3 countries in developing seamless, quality transportation networks that are environmentally conscious
5. Digital Transformation Sector Implementation is underway to develop an e-Commerce platform in IMT-GT in collaboration with the IMT-GT Business Council to serve as a channel for using technology/innovation to support SMEs and increase cross-border trade value in the subregion. This platform will expand and develop into the IMT-GT Mall in the future. However, consideration of business model development and further discussions on trade regulations and international logistics systems are still needed to create a business ecosystem to support the application’s usage
6. Trade and Investment Sector The Framework of Cooperation between the Governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand on Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (FoC in CIQ) to facilitate cross-border movement of goods and people in the IMT-GT subregion has been completed, and senior officials from all 3 countries agreed to expedite the signing of this cooperation framework within 2024
7. Human Resource Development Sector Regional Projects have been implemented to develop workforce competitiveness and promote integration of labor skill standards for consistency. However, it is deemed appropriate to develop cooperation with leading companies to enable skill development for the IMT-GT subregion workforce to meet market demands, while continuing to emphasize Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) production and development
8. Environment Sector Plays a key role in proposing new environmental initiatives to be implemented under IB 2022-2026, along with developing environmental projects in collaboration with development partners such as India and UN-ESCAP in creating pilot area projects and playing a key role in driving the BCG model into practice in Green Cities pilot projects
9. The meeting also acknowledged the progress of cooperation between the IMT-GT Business Council and UNINET in effectively promoting programs/projects in collaboration with working groups in various cooperation sectors with concrete results
On this same occasion, ADB, as a development partner of the IMT-GT Program, reported progress on the preparation of the Joint BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT Blue Economy Strategy 2030 to serve as guidelines for developing the economy based on sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, which aligns with the Implementation Blueprint 2022-2026 that emphasizes the development of green economy, blue economy, and circular economy
For the 18th Strategic Planning Meeting to Drive the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Development Program, the Government of Malaysia will host the meeting in 2025, and Malaysia will also chair the 30th IMT-GT Ministerial Meeting and other related meetings in September 2024
News: Strategy and International Cooperation Coordination Division
