Towards a better understanding of the political economy of regional integration in the GMS: Stakeholder coordination and consultation for subregional trade facilitation in Thailand
Thailand has been actively involved in the GMS programme since its creation. While intraregional trade has increased substantially, there are concerns about how the programme fits with the ASEAN, ASEAN-China and other triangular initiatives, as well as the slow implementation of some of the main initiatives. This paper therefore examines the importance, involvement, influence, impact and interest of various group of Thai stakeholders in GMS regional integration, focusing in particular on trade facilitation initiatives, i.e., the GMS Economic Corridors and the CrossBorder Transport Agreement (CBTA).