On Friday, November 7 2012, the Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, Klas Molin, signed on behalf of the Government of Sweden a co-financing agreement of 8.3 million US Dollars for a second phase of the Core Environment Program and Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (CEP-BCI), an Asian Development Bank (ADB) administered program helping the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) achieve environmentally-friendly economic growth.
Sweden’s latest commitment follows the 11 million US dollars it contributed to the 2006-2012 pilot phase of the CEP-BCI.
The program is helping GMS countries shift towards green economies, including support for biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation and resilience.
CEP-BCI is part of the GMS Economic Cooperation Program, which has since 1992 invested more than $15 billion in subregional roads, airports, railways, power facilities, tourism infrastructure, and disease prevention. In October this year, Sweden committed $7.5 million to the Core Agriculture Support Program, another initiative under the GMS Program.
CEP-BCI is overseen by the GMS Working Group on Environment, consisting of representatives from the environment ministries of the six GMS countries: Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
