The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will hold a Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on 27 October 2020 via web-based conferencing to finalize key items and firm up arrangements for the 24th GMS Ministerial Conference on 4 November 2020.

This SOM follows an earlier meeting held on 11 September 2020 which briefed senior officials on the key elements of the latest GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 draft, outlined the proposed medium-term GMS COVID-19 Response Plan, presented updates on the Report of the Pilot Study on the Development of the People’s Republic of China–Myanmar Sections of the North–South Economic Corridor, discussed the outcome of the Dialogue on Labor Migration in the GMS, briefed Senior Officials on the progress of work and next steps in the Regional Investment Framework (RIF) Third Progress Report and Update covering the year 2020, and reviewed the progress of preparations for the 11th GMS Economic Corridors’ Forum, 24th GMS Ministerial Conference, and the 7th GMS Summit.

The upcoming SOM will include sessions on:

• GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030): final review and clearance by the SOM
   
• GMS COVID-19 Response and Recovery Plan 2021-2023: review by the SOM
   
• The study, GMS 2030 and Beyond: Integration, Connectivity, and Cities—Where to and How
   
• The GMS RIF 2022 Third Progress Report and Update
   
• The proposed establishment of the Task Force on Labor Migration and its terms of reference
   
• The draft Senior Officials’ Meeting Chair’s Report to the Ministers and the status of the 24th GMS Ministerial Conference deliverables
   
• Arrangements for the virtual 24th GMS Ministerial Conference
   
• Updates on the 7th GMS Summit

GMS Senior officials and Asian Development Bank officials will participate in this meeting.

This article was first published by the Greater Mekong Subregion (greatermekong.org) on 21 October 2020.