Asia Regional Integration Center

Rapid economic growth and regional integration has led to increasing cross-border challenges for developing countries—such as controlling communicable diseases, facilitating trans-border infrastructure, mitigating financial contagion, and addressing environmental concerns—which require regional responses. The role of regional development banks (RDBs) in supporting regional public goods (RPGs) is significant. RDBs have scaled up assistance and partnered with developing member countries (DMCs) in promoting regional cooperation and integration (RCI) that promote RPGs.   ...Read more

While rapid economic expansion has brought immense benefits to Asia, it has adversely affected the environment. Greater production and consumption, connectivity, and flows of goods and people have created environmental degradation through air pollution and damage to protected areas, and contributed to increases in greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. ADB has responded to these challenges by integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation among its efforts, consciously melding this as an overarching theme for projects in different sectors such as agriculture, energy, transport, health, and social protection.   ...Read more

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by founding members Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.   ...Read more

On the sidelines of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit on 4 April 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Sixth Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit and the Eighth Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit endorsed their respective Implementation Blueprints (IBs) for 2012–16.   ...Read more

ADB’s Pacific Regional Department (PARD) has long been supporting RCI among its 14 Pacific developing member countries (PDMCs), often with other development partners. Contributions include support for regional development forums, infrastructure finance; regional projects focused on renewable energy, marine and coastal management; and strengthening disaster preparedness.   ...Read more

ADB supports RCI in South Asia in four ways: (i) subregionally through the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program, (ii) regionally through the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), (iii) interregionally through the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and (iv) through collaboration with networks of regional policy research institutes.   ...Read more

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprises Cambodia, PRC (Yunnan province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.   ...Read more

The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is a partnership of 10 countries and six multilateral institutions promoting development through regional economic cooperation. CAREC proactively facilitates practical, results-based regional projects and policy initiatives in transport, energy, trade facilitation, and trade policy. ADB serves as the CAREC Secretariat, and provides financial and technical support in the implementation of priority regional projects and initiatives.   ...Read more