Quá trình hình thành và phát triển của cơ chế hợp tác tiểu vùng mekong mở rộng từ năm 1992 đến năm 2012 TT TIENG ANH

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VIỆT NAM HỌC VIỆN KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI Nguyen Chung Thuy Nguyễn ChNg Thủ THE PROCESS OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION COOPERATION MECHANISM FROM 1992 TO 2012 Chuyên ngành: Lịch sử giới SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS IN HISTORY Hanoi – 2021 This work was completed at the Academy of Social Sciences Scientific instructors: Assoc Prof Dr Ngo Minh Oanh Reviewer: Prof Dr Do Thanh Binh Reviewer: Prof Dr Nguyen Thai Yen Huong Reviewer: Assoc Prof Dr Dao Tuan Thanh The thesis will be defended in front of the Academy-level Thesis Judging Committee meeting at: ……………………………………………………………… at …………hours ……min, day ……month …… year ……… The thesis can be found at the library: PREAMBLE Reason for choosing the topic At the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century, with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the "Yalta Bipolar Order", a new trend was formed and clearly developed - the trend of peace, friendship and cooperation; along with that is the process of globalization and regional linkage taking place strongly The development of globalization has promoted the formation of regional linkages and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, forcing large and small countries to actively participate in the regional integration process If you don't want to be "left behind", because no country or nation can survive and develop if it is isolated from this common trend of mankind In that context, from the initiative of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation mechanism was born in October 1992 a multilateral cooperation mechanism at the sub-regional/sub-regional level with the participation of countries and territories: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and two administrative units of China, Van province South and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, under the leadership and coordination of ADB Located in a very important geographical position, as a bridge connecting Northeast Asia with Southeast Asia and South Asia, the Greater Mekong Sub-region in particular and the countries in the Mekong Sub-region in particular are of strategic importance in security and development cooperation for relevant countries, especially for Vietnam, in the strategic competition of major countries Therefore, the cooperation relationship between the countries in the GMS for the purpose of building a rich and prosperous sub-region has been formed and is growing With the efforts of all countries in the GMS and the help of ADB and donors, GMS cooperation has achieved many important results, making an important contribution to the socio-economic development of the countries in the GMS and is considered a rather successful cooperation mechanism among the many cooperation mechanisms being implemented in the Mekong Sub-region However, besides that, the GMS cooperation mechanism also revealed some shortcomings, limitations and many difficulties and challenges that need to be solved in order to promote better cooperation and development in the next stages So how has the GMS cooperation mechanism formed and developed? On what grounds was it born? How have the achievements of the GMS cooperation mechanism impacted the socio-economic development of the countries in the Sub-region? What are the shortcomings, limitations and difficulties and challenges that this cooperation mechanism needs to solve? What is the position, role and participation of Vietnam in this cooperation mechanism? etc… All these questions prompted us to choose the topic "The process of formation and development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism from 1992 to 2012" as the research work for the thesis Doctorate in World History, Code 92 29 011 Purpose and research tasks of the Thesis - Research purpose: With this research topic, the thesis wishes to contribute to a better identification of the formation and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism, thereby pointing out the successes, limitations and challenges the impact of the GMS cooperation mechanism on the socio-economic development of the GMS countries At the same time, clarifying the trend of regional integration and linkage and the involvement and role of partners outside the region, especially of major countries, in the security of this sub-region, including Vietnam - Research mission: (1) Clarifying the theoretical and practical basis for the formation of the GMS cooperation mechanism; (2) Analyzing the impact of the historical context, the process of building and implementing cooperation fields and projects and the results achieved by GMS cooperation at each stage; (3) Impacts from the results achieved by GMS cooperation on the economy and society of the GMS countries; (4) Clarifying the achievements, shortcomings, limitations and difficulties and challenges of the GMS cooperation mechanism; (5) Draw comments, assessments and problems posed for Vietnam in participating in the GMS cooperation mechanism Objects and research scope of the Thesis 3.1 Research subjects The object of the thesis is the formation and development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism from 1992 to 2012 3.2 Research scope - Research time range: The research time frame is defined as from 1992 to 2012 - Scope of research space: Member countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Yunnan province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China) In addition, the thesis will also mention some other countries that are development partners related to GMS cooperation - Scope of research content: The thesis defines the scope of research content which are: (1) Objectives, principles of cooperation and operational mechanism of GMS cooperation; (2) The fields of cooperation of GMS are implemented within the research time frame of the thesis, including specific fields such as: Transport, energy, post and telecommunications, tourism, environment, human resources, trade investment, agriculture; (3) The position, role and participation of Vietnam in the GMS cooperation mechanism Methodology, research methods and sources of references - Methodological basis: The thesis researches the problem based on the methodology of Marxist history, namely dialectical materialism and historical materialism; viewpoints and guidelines of the Party and State of Vietnam to research, analyze and comment on the formation and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism as well as the problems posed to Vietnam in the process of joining into this cooperation mechanism - Research method: The thesis is based on two main methods used in historical research, namely historical method and Logic method In addition, we also use a number of other methods such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, comparison and interdisciplinary approaches such as: systems approach - structure, approach to regional research field of study, theory on international relations, especially on multilateral cooperation, geo-economics, etc… in the process of implementation to clarify issues to be researched - References: (1) Some Documents of the Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam; documents of the Government, ministries and branches of Vietnam (within the research timeframe of the thesis) related to Vietnam's foreign policy with GMS countries; (2) Joint Statements of the GMS Summit and documents of agreements of countries related to GMS cooperation; (3) Data from reports of Asian Development Bank, World Bank and international organizations related to GMS cooperation; (4) Research works of domestic and foreign scientists are books, scientific articles published in journals, scientific conferences, theses and dissertations related to GMS cooperation Scientific contributions of the thesis - The thesis is a comprehensive and systematic study on the formation and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism from the perspective of historical science Thereby, contributing to enriching the research approach of the Greater Mekong Subregion from the perspective of History in addition to the approach of many other sciences Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis - In terms of theory: The thesis not only clarifies the identification of the formation and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism, but also contributes to clarifying the trend of integration, regional linkage and the role of GMS The role and involvement of partners outside the region, especially of major countries, in the security of this sub-region, including Vietnam - In terms of practical significance: (1) The thesis contributes to providing scientific data that can be used as a reference for Vietnam's policy making and implementation in participating in GMS cooperation in the current period in particular, in multilateral cooperation mechanisms in general (2) The thesis is a valuable reference work for the research, teaching and learning work of lecturers and students in the fields of history, international studies, international relations and other disciplines of the Faculty of Science Social Studies and Humanities 7.Thesis layout In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, List of References and Appendix, the thesis is structured in chapters and sections Chapter OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH SITUATION RELATED TO THE THESIS TOPIC 1.1 Research situation in Vietnam and abroad 1.1.1 Research situation in Vietnam First of all, there is a group of extensive research works on many issues in Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation These are works that have directly or indirectly addressed issues related to GMS cooperation, including typical studies such as: Books by Nguyen Tran Que and Kieu Van Trung (2001) with “Mekong Rivers and Sub-Region – Potential and International Cooperation”; Nguyen Tran Que (cb, 2007) with “Current and Future Expanded Mekong Subregion Cooperation”; Pham Duc Duong (2007) with the book “There is a Mekong Cultural Region”; “Vietnam and Mekong Subregion Cooperation” published in 2000 by the Southeast Asian Scientific Research Association; Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung (2011) with “Role of local government in Greater Mekong Subregional Cooperation”, … Some dissertations such as Hoang Viet Khang (2009) on “Economic cooperation in Greater Mekong Subregion” : Current status, orientation and solutions”; Huynh Phuong Anh (2014) research on “Relations between Japan and Mekong Sub-region countries since the Cold War up to now”; Nguyen Thi Tu Trinh (2018) research on "Sustainable cooperation between Vietnam and countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (1992 - 2012)"; Along with that are a number of scientific articles in journals such as: "Extended Mekong Subregion Cooperation: Achievements, Challenges and Participation of Vietnam", Nhip Cau Knowledge Magazine, No + 2015 by Nguyen Bich Ngoc; “The Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation and Vietnam – China Relations”, Journal of World Economic and Political Issues, No 136(8) 2007 by Pham Thai Quoc and Tran Van Duy; “ADB's GMS Program: 25 Years of Development and the Role of Donors", Journal of World Economic and Political Issues, No (263) 2018 by Nguyen Hong Nhung; etc… Second, is a group of research works with contents related to each issue and field in the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation Typical in this group can be mentioned a number of books, theses and scientific articles such as: Ngo Thu Trang (2005) with the book "Information and communication technology with trade policy and investment and development small Mekong River region”; Nguyen Thi Tham (2015) with the book ; Le Van My (2016) with “China in Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation: Impact and Influence”; The thesis of Nguyen Hoang Hue (2014) studies on “The process of economic cooperation between countries in the East-West economic corridor (1998 - 2010); Research topics of the Institute of Trade Research, Ministry of Trade in 2005 "Some solutions to develop Vietnam's trade with countries in the Mekong Sub-region"; by Nguyen Hong Nhung in 2007 on "GMS cooperation in improving the efficiency of the use of economic corridors: The case of the East-West economic corridor and KunmingLao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong" and "Politics" human resource development policy in some GMS countries – current situation and issues”; …And quite a few scientific articles published in journals of Southeast Asian Studies, Chinese Studies or published in Proceedings of a number of scientific conferences have directly or indirectly mentioned a number of issues, fields related to GMS cooperation 1.1.2 Research situation abroad Regarding the research works of foreign scholars related to the GMS cooperation mechanism, it can be said that there have been quite a few research works on this cooperation mechanism so far However, research works abroad mainly focus on specific fields and contents of cooperation, key projects connected in the GMS, there are few works that cover the overall structure of the GMS GMS cooperation mechanism A number of works on general overview of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism: These are works that cover many issues and fields in GMS cooperation, typically some of which can be mentioned research such as: “Regionalism and foreign policy (ChinaVietnam relations and institution-building in the Greater Mekong Subregion)” in 2006 by Oliver Michael Hensengerth; “Developing the Mekong: Regionnalims and regional security in China – Southeast Asian relation” by Evelyn Goh in 2007; “Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region” by Francois Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Kakone in 2009; “Border area development in the GMS: Turning the periphery into the center of growth” 2009 by Toshihiro Kudo; “Trade Facilitation Handbook for the Greater Mekong Subregion: Status, Needs and Directions” 2007 by Cielito F Habito and Ella S Antonio; “Energy sector in the Greater Mekong Subregion” released by ADB in 2008; etc… clarified the potentials, opportunities and contents of cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and suggested orientations and policies to promote the development of cooperation in those fields in the overall cooperation GMS economy; Especially in 2012, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment and development of GMS cooperation, ADB published a report on “Greater Mekong SubregionTwenty years of partnership” This report of ADB has reviewed the basic achievements of GMS cooperation in various fields after 20 years of cooperation The group of research works specifically mentions a number of areas in the Greater Mekong Subregion integration mechanism: In this group, mainly works on a number of specific areas such as trade and investment, Construction of transport infrastructure and development of economic corridors Some typical works can be mentioned such as: 11 closeness of historical and cultural factors, ethnic groups, religions, beliefs and the diversity of political institutions Third, the socioeconomic situation and the urgent need to cooperate for development 2.2 The birth of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism 2.2.1 History of the establishment of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism The GMS cooperation mechanism was born in May 19, 1992 in Manila (Philippines) from an initiative of ADB After 20 years of establishment and development (1992-2012), the GMS cooperation mechanism has undergone 18 Ministerial Conferences and GMS Summits (in years: 2002 in Cambodia, 2005 in Kunming – China, 2008 in Laos and 2011 in Myanmar) From fields of cooperation when it was established, by 2012, GMS cooperation has expanded to fields, with 11 priority programs To date, GMS cooperation is considered to be the most successful and effective cooperation mechanism among more than one different cooperation mechanisms being implemented in the Mekong Sub-region 2.2.2 Objectives, principles of cooperation and operation mechanism of the Greater Mekong Subregion Cooperation Mechanism The goals of GMS cooperation are: to share responsibilities and to work together in common efforts, to ensure practical and effective cooperation in order to build the GMS into an outward-looking, effective and cooperative region stable and long-term development The principle of GMS cooperation is voluntary, mutual benefit and respect for national sovereignty This is the general principle of GMS cooperation From this general principle, it is expressed through specific cooperation principles within the GMS framework 12 The operating mechanism of GMS is shown through organizational forms, namely: GMS Summit, Ministerial Conference; Sector Forums and Working Groups; GMS National Coordinating Committee and Secretariat 2.2.3 The role of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Japan in the birth and development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism ADB and Japan played an important role in the birth and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism ADB is an investor, technical consultant, trusted broker, secretary, and coordinator In particular, in its leadership role, ADB has mobilized resources for important initiatives, built and developed cooperation mechanisms for the GMS Japan is the main partner in supporting the formulation of strategic orientations, development planning, action plans and programs, and is also the one who directly helps large projects in important fields of GMS cooperation Chapter EVOLUTION OF THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION COOPERATION MECHANISM FROM 1992 TO 2012 3.1 The process of building and implementing fields of cooperation in the period 1992 - 2002 3.1.1 Ministerial Conference with the Development of Cooperation Agreements The GMS Ministerial Conference was the highest-level political forum during this period and played an important role in the development of cooperation agreements During these 10 years, there have been 11 ministerial-level meetings held with key cooperation areas developed and implemented, including: transportation, telecommunications, energy, 13 tourism, environment market, human resource development, trade, investment and agriculture 3.1.2 Areas of cooperation and achievements During the first 10 years of GMS cooperation (1992 – 2002), the identification and development of collaborative projects was a top priority of GMS cooperation In the field of transportation, GMS cooperation has identified 33 traffic projects: road projects, railway projects, 10 waterway transport projects, air transport projects In the energy sector, 11 cooperative projects have been identified focusing on electricity generation and transmission In the field of post and telecommunications, 13 fiber optic cable projects connecting or countries in the Sub-region and research projects have been identified In the field of tourism, cooperation GMS has developed a strategy of transnational tourism cooperation in the Sub-region, forming projects through activities to improve infrastructure, provide quality services to promote tourism maximum attraction of tourists to and through the SubRegion In the field of environmental protection, the "Sub-Region Environmental Management and Information System" (SEMIS) has been built In the field of human resource development cooperation, 10 projects have been identified in the field of human resource development In the field of trade and investment, only programs and projects to call for investment have been built through the activities of the Investment Working Group and the organization of a number of business forums, attracting a large amount of capital quite modest, with nearly 3.4 billion USD Agriculture is the last sector in this period to be added to GMS cooperation In 2001, agriculture became the 9th priority area of GMS cooperation During this period, the results achieved in cooperation, although just the beginning, are very important In addition to setting short-term goals, the 14 parties have tried to develop long-term goals and adopted the operating principles of GMS cooperation 3.2 The development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism in the period 2002 - 2012 3.2.1 Changes in the international and regional situation in the early years of the 21st century affect the cooperation mechanism of the Greater Mekong Subregion At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world situation has had great and profound changes in all fields: that is the formation of a new situation in international relations; the development of the scientific technological revolution and its impacts on all fields of human life; The process of globalization and regionalization is taking place more and more strongly, and global problems have become challenges for all countries Those great changes have had multi-dimensional impacts and brought opportunities as well as opportunities challenge for every country in the world Southeast Asia in general and countries in the Mekong sub-region in particular have also been affected and dominated by this general context 3.2.2 The development of the level of cooperation Unlike the process of developing and implementing cooperation agreements in the first 10 years, which is mainly conducted through ministerial meetings, at this stage, the process of developing agreements, implementing deploying cooperation programs and projects conducted through GMS Summits, GMS Ministerial Meetings, activities of Working Groups and Sector Forums That shows that there has been a shift in the breadth and depth of GMS cooperation Cooperation has taken place at many different levels and levels: Cooperation at the transnational and national level; cooperation between localities, especially border localities; cooperation among ministries and branches of member countries It can be said that in the second decade since its 15 establishment, GMS's cooperation activities have been much more active than in the first decade 3.2.3 The development of cooperation scale and achieved results The development of cooperation scale in this period of the GMS cooperation mechanism is reflected in the implementation of cooperation programs and projects in all specific cooperation areas, namely: Transport, Energy, Telecommunications, Trade, Investment, Agriculture, Human Resource Development, Tourism and Environmental Protection and Natural Resources These areas of cooperation have attracted large investment capital and technical assistance capital At the same time, they have developed medium and long-term cooperation strategies, such as: "Mekong Subregional Transport Strategy 2006 - 2015" in the field of transport; Strategy “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Development GMS” in the energy sector; Strategy to build "GMS information superhighway network" in the field of telecommunications; “Strategic Framework for Action and Trade and Investment Promotion (SFA –TFI)” in the field of trade and investment; “Agricultural cooperation strategy and agricultural support program for the period 2006 – 2010” in the field of agriculture, … These areas of cooperation have achieved important results, especially in areas such as transportation communication, energy, trade and investment 16 Chapter COMMENTS ON THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION COOPERATION MECHANISM FROM 1992 TO 2012 AND VIETNAM'S PARTICIPATION 4.1 Comments on the formation and development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism 4.1.1 On the evolution of the GMS cooperation mechanism through two phases (1992 - 2002) and (2002 - 2012) During the first 10 years (1992 - 2002), basically, the GMS cooperation mechanism only focused on determining the contents and fields of cooperation and building cooperation agreements, not achieving the goals specific achievements in the fields of cooperation During the next 10 years (2002 - 2012), this cooperation mechanism took place at various scales and levels in fields of cooperation 4.1.2 On the participation of member countries in GMS cooperation First, regarding the level of support and commitment at the participation level: Ever since ADB initiated the GMS cooperation initiative, all GMS member countries have strongly supported and committed to actively participate in the implementation this collaborative initiative when it was conceived Second, in terms of readiness and active participation: GMS member countries have always shown an active willingness and initiative to participate in all GMS cooperation activities, from identifying ideas for cooperation, to preparation and implementation of cooperation activities GMS member countries participate in this cooperation initiative without any pressure but completely voluntarily for the benefit of each member country and for the benefit of the whole GMS Third, in terms of scale of participation: Member countries have prepared a massive cooperation program including hundreds of projects, priority cooperation programs in areas of sub-regional economic 17 cooperation, namely transportation, energy, post and telecommunications, trade, investment, tourism, environment, human resource development and agriculture 4.1.3 Regarding the allocation of investment capital and technical assistance funds The allocation of investment capital of GMS cooperation has a remarkable point that it mainly focuses on the field of construction and infrastructure development in the field of transport (the ratio of investment capital to the transport sector) accounted for 78.4%) Therefore, cooperation in the field of transportation is the most outstanding achievement of GMS cooperation since its establishment in 1992 to 2012 Another noteworthy point is that, among 57 investment projects of GMS GMS from 1994 to 2011, these projects were only deployed in a few countries in the GMS, mainly in China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, with a relatively high proportion of investment capital much to China, while Myanmar and Thailand receive little investment from these projects 4.1.4 On the achievements of the GMS cooperation mechanism and its impacts on the socio-economic development of the countries in the Sub-region Through 20 years of establishment and development, with the results achieved, especially the results in cooperation in the second decade after its establishment, GMS cooperation has achieved great achievements By defining content and areas of cooperation, building and implementing hundreds of investment projects and providing technical support, GSM cooperation has attracted investment resources for the program from many different sources with very large capital The results brought about by this cooperation mechanism have had important and positive impacts on the economic and social development of the countries in the subregion That is reflected in the following points: Firstly, the impact on economic development: The results achieved in GMS cooperation have contributed to helping countries in the sub-region maintain high and stable economic growth during the two decades of 18 cooperation GDP growth rates of most countries in the sub-region are maintained at a high level, especially those that were previously very poor and backward, with slow economic development such as Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam However, since joining the GMS cooperation, the GDP growth rate has always remained from over 7% to less than 10%/year Second, promote the development of transport and energy infrastructure: One of the important achievements of the GMS cooperation mechanism is that it has attracted a large amount of capital to invest in infrastructure (mainly) mainly traffic and energy) Thanks to this important source of finance, the transport system in the GMS has been significantly improved Third, contribute to solving social problems and improving people's quality of life: The GMS cooperation mechanism has made an important contribution to training and developing human resources, protecting the environment, promoting promote the development of health, culture, education, exploit the potentials of tourism, contribute to improving the quality of life of the people Fourth, contribute to promoting regional linkages and the birth of a number of other cooperation mechanisms: The GMS cooperation mechanism has become a bridge connecting countries in the sub-region together, creating a strong momentum new opportunities for these countries to promote their potential strengths for economic and social cooperation, contributing to narrowing the rich-poor gap between mainland Southeast Asian countries that are members of the GMS and other countries within ASEAN In addition, this cooperation mechanism also makes an important contribution to promoting regional economic linkages between countries in Southeast Asia and countries in Northeast Asia 4.1.5 Regarding some shortcomings and limitations of the GMS cooperation mechanism The shortcomings and limitations of the GMS cooperation mechanism are: the allocation of investment capital is not really reasonable, the 19 organizational structure is still simple, the management and administration mechanism is still quite loose and lacks constraints Legally, priority programs and projects are too spread out and lack the role of a “guide” in the cooperation process… 4.1.6 Difficulties and challenges for the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism In addition to the important achievements achieved after two decades of cooperation, the GMS cooperation mechanism also encountered many difficulties and challenges in promoting this cooperation mechanism to continue moving forward realize the vision of a prosperous, harmonious and unified Sub-Region, rapid economic growth, social progress and sustainable environmental development The difficulties and challenges that the GMS cooperation mechanism needs to solve are: Firstly, it is the development gap (including factors: infrastructure gap, income gap, linkage gap and institutional disparity) among GMS member countries Secondly, disagreements in management and sustainable exploitation of Mekong river water resources of countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion; Third, the involvement and competition for influence of major countries in the Mekong Sub-region affects the unity of countries in the GMS in the cooperation process Fourthly, the overlap of many cooperation frameworks in the Mekong Sub-region affects the mobilization of resources of member countries in the process of participating in the GMS cooperation mechanism 4.2 Vietnam's participation in the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism 4.2.1 Vietnam's position, role and participation in the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism With a strategic geographical position in Southeast Asia in general, the Mekong Sub-region in particular, Vietnam's territory stretches from north to south, with a long coastline and an important seaport system, Vietnam as a "hybrid" between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, 20 Vietnam has a very important role in the development of the GMS cooperation mechanism Vietnam has actively participated in the Mekong sub-region (GMS) cooperation since the first day this initiative was launched and is also a country that benefits from this cooperation initiative Vietnam has participated in most of the priority initiatives of the Sub-region in all fields of cooperation such as transportation, energy, telecommunications, trade, tourism, agriculture, environment and resource development human resources (including: health, education and training, vocational training and migration in the GMS region) 4.2.2 Opportunities and difficulties and challenges of Vietnam in the process of participating in the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism - Opportunities: participating in the GMS cooperation mechanism, firstly, gives Vietnam a great opportunity to improve and upgrade the technical infrastructure, especially traffic when actively participating in the programs, GMS cooperation project; secondly, making an important contribution to helping Vietnam integrate deeper and wider with the region and the world, because this cooperation mechanism not only has the cooperation of member countries in the sub-region but also attracts the investment interest of many big countries and international organizations; thirdly, it is an opportunity for Vietnam to continue to receive active support in terms of finance, technology and advanced management skills from donors in the process of Vietnam's participation in the fields and projects GMS cooperation project; fourthly, helping Vietnam have more opportunities to mobilize investment capital for development; The opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to invest in and benefit from the GMS are increasing, especially when the investment environment in this region is improving and becoming more and more attractive - Difficulties and challenges: Firstly, after becoming a middle-income country, Vietnam no longer receives financial support like the group of poor countries, including financial support finance from the GMS cooperation mechanism Second, the disparity in economic development, 21 the diversity of political regimes, the legal system as well as the differences in history, culture and the complexity of the political situation in each country such as ethnic and religious conflicts, ethnic secession, etc are also challenges for Vietnam in the process of cooperation with countries in the GMS Third, the shortcomings and contradictions in the sustainable management and exploitation of water resources of the Mekong River among countries in the GMS are still a very difficult problem to solve, while it is located at the downstream of the Mekong River Therefore, Vietnam is greatly affected by this problem 4.2.3 Issues for Vietnam in the process of participating in the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism Firstly, Vietnam needs to clearly define its priority issues in the overall GMS cooperation mechanism in general and in each specific field and cooperation project Second, Vietnam needs to determine the order of priority fields and projects to participate in in order to increase efficiency and limit the need to spread resources to participate in cooperation activities Third, Vietnam needs to actively participate in the process of building visions, programs and joint cooperation plans of GMS cooperation; introduce Vietnamese ideas and initiatives into the GMS cooperation mechanism Fourth, Vietnam needs to actively promote its leading role in a number of specialized cooperation areas in which it has strengths; promote projects in line with Vietnam's socio-economic development priorities; participate in cooperation projects of other countries on the basis of comprehensive assessment of economic, political, social and security factors Fifth, Vietnam needs to take advantage of opportunities to exploit advantages, consider taking appropriate steps to solve challenges, especially to avoid being caught in the "stuck" between major countries in the world cooperation process 22 CONCLUDE The GMS cooperation mechanism was established in October 1992 in the context of international and regional fluctuations The process of globalization has promoted the formation of "regionalism" and multilateral cooperation mechanisms This is also the premise of the theoretical basis for the formation of the GMS cooperation mechanism a multilateral cooperation mechanism at the sub-regional/sub-regional level led and coordinated by ADB Meanwhile, factors such as: The urgent need for the development of regional and international cooperation in the process of globalization; the sense of regional integration of the countries in the Sub-region leading to the formation of regionalism in the GMS; similarities in geographical location and socioeconomic conditions; diversity in cultural, ethnic, religious and political identities; The great potential of natural resources, young and abundant human resources, etc have become the practical basis for cooperation for development of the countries in the GMS region Therefore, when ADB launched the initiative on the GMS cooperation mechanism, the member countries in the Sub-region supported and actively participated in this cooperation initiative In the birth and development of the GMS cooperation mechanism, ADB and Japan play a very important role In the first decade after its establishment (1992 – 2002), the development of the GMS cooperation mechanism took place in the context of a rather favorable political situation in the region The development of GMS in formulating programmes, cooperation plans, selection of cooperation areas and priority projects, etc has mostly been carried out through ministerial conferences With the GMS countries approving the "10-year Cooperation Strategy 1992 - 2002" and the development and implementation of cooperation projects in a number of specific fields, especially the development of infrastructure in the field of in the first step, certain results have been obtained, creating an important premise for the development of GMS cooperation in the next phase GMS cooperation in the next 10 years (2002 - 2012), although taking 23 place in an international and regional context with new and complicated developments, compared to the first 10 years, GMS cooperation has had development in both breadth and depth, taking place vibrantly at many different scales and levels: inter-governmental level, ministerial level, sectoral level and cooperation among a number of localities Compared with the first decade after its establishment, GMS cooperation has achieved much greater results in the cooperation process in the second decade (2002 - 2012) After two decades of establishment and development (1992 - 2012), it can be said that GMS cooperation has achieved many important achievements With 57 investment projects with a capital of 15 billion USD, mainly for infrastructure development in the transport sector, along with 289 million USD for 179 technical assistance projects, distributed in a number of fields key cooperation areas such as environment, energy, transport and human resource development, etc The results achieved in the fields of cooperation of GMS have had a significant impact on economic and social development associations of the member countries of the GMS In addition to the important achievements that have been achieved, the GMS cooperation mechanism still has some limitations that need to be overcome in order to develop better in the future such as: the organizational structure is still loose, there is a lack of binding force legal issues, the spread of priority programs and projects of GMS cooperation, the inadequacy of methods/mechanisms for raising capital/investment resources, proposals for development projects, etc From the reality of the process of implementing cooperation after two decades, it can be seen that the GMS cooperation mechanism still has many difficulties and challenges that need to be solved These are the disparity in development levels among countries in the GMS, disagreements and conflicts among GMS countries on the sustainable exploitation of the Mekong River's water resources, the involvement and competition for the influence of the number of large countries in the 24 Mekong Sub-region and the overlap of too many cooperation mechanisms in the Mekong Sub-region As a member country of GMS cooperation, Vietnam has actively participated in this cooperation program from the very beginning Keeping an important geographical position, along with political stability, economic development and increasing international status in recent years, Vietnam is playing an increasingly important role in the world and an important position in the GMS cooperation mechanism However, after two decades of participating in this cooperation mechanism, besides the important results that have been achieved, Vietnam also needs to draw lessons from experience in determining the priority order of the fields cooperate; clearly identify difficulties and challenges to take appropriate steps and strategic calculations, actively promote their position and role in GMS cooperation, avoid falling into a "stuck" between major countries in the process of participating in this cooperation mechanism List of scientific works related to the thesis topic Nguyen Chung Thuy 2013 "Vietnam's geo-economic - political role in Japan's foreign strategy in Southeast Asia in the early years of the 21st century", Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, University of Foreign Languages Informatics Ho Chi Minh City - Union of Friendship Organizations of Ho Chi Minh City and Japanese universities (co-organised) Nguyen Chung Thuy 2013 “The impact of strategic competition between major countries in Southeast Asia on Vietnam-Japan relations in the early years of the twenty-first century”, Proceedings of the Scientific Conference “40 years of Japan-Japan relations – Vietnam: Achievements and prospects”, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, City Ho Chi Minh Nguyen Chung Thuy 2017 “Impacts of the Southern Economic Corridor project and the exploitation of Mekong river water resources on the Southern region”, Journal of Science, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, No 14 (8) Nguyen Chung Thuy 2018 “Economic ambitions and strategic calculations of major countries in the Mekong Subregion in the early years of the twenty-first century”, Journal of Science, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, No 15 (2) ... development of the Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation mechanism from 1992 to 2012 3.2 Research scope - Research time range: The research time frame is defined as from 1992 to 2012 - Scope of research... Vietnam and countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (1992 - 2012) "; Along with that are a number of scientific articles in journals such as: "Extended Mekong Subregion Cooperation: Achievements,... Chapter EVOLUTION OF THE GREATER MEKONG SUBREGION COOPERATION MECHANISM FROM 1992 TO 2012 3.1 The process of building and implementing fields of cooperation in the period 1992 - 2002 3.1.1 Ministerial