The GIZ supports regional economic integration in Asia through its Support for Economic Cooperation in Sub-Regional Initiatives in Asia (SCSI) program. The program works with sub-regional initiatives like the Greater Tumen Initiative and Pan Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation to strengthen processes of regional integration between countries. The goal is to contribute to sustainable development in the region by promoting cross-border trade and investment, capacity building, and knowledge sharing. In the past, the program has provided training to public and private stakeholders to improve implementation of economic agreements and regional initiatives.

1. Support for Economic cooperation in Sub-Regional
Initiatives in Asia (SCSI)

2. How GIZ supports Regional Economic Cooperation
To advance and connect sustainable development on a provincial,
national, regional, and global level it is imperative to think
beyond borders. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
(BMZ), has been involved with regional economic cooperation and
integration for many years. GIZ supports regional economic
communities (RECs) in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin
America. In doing so, we increase prospects for peace and
prosperity by minimising potential conflicts through jointly
managing shared resources. Taking into account the specific needs
of our partners, we use tailor-made approaches and instruments
in different regions. Our work targets stakeholders at the regional,
national, and provincial level. We work together with the public
sector, for instance cooperating with officials, technical staff at
international or regional institutions, national governments, as
well as private sector associations, chambers of commerce, and
civil society organisations.

3. Support for Economic Cooperation in Sub-Regional Initiatives in
Asia (SCSI) Programme
Sub-regional initiatives foster regional economic cooperation and
integration and play an important role sustainable development in
Asia. Apart from dismantling trade barriers, the initiatives
promote cross-border investment and improve the capacity of
regions to connect to the global market, thus establishing new
economic corridors. By promoting less developed areas in border
regions they contribute to economic development and job creation.
The GIZ programme “Support for Economic Cooperation in Sub-
Regional Initiatives in Asia (SCSI)” works with RECs like the
Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) and Pan Beibu Gulf Economic
Cooperation (PBG) to strengthen selected core processes of
regional integration between Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, and
Mongolia with China. The aim of the programme is to contribute to
sustainable and inclusive development in the region.
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Key subjects: Cross-Border Cooperation, Trade Facilitation, Maritime Cooperation, Private Sector Involvement
Focus countries: Kingdom of Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Overall term: April 2015 – March 2019
Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI):
Mongolia, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and
Russian Federation
Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation (PBG):
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, People’s Republic of China (PRC), Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam

4. Background
With Asia’s continuing rise and growing impact on the global
economy, regional cooperation and integration is a key to sustain
region-wide economic structures, an integrated market for the
free flow of trade, and cross-border investments.
Asian regionalism reflects the region’s great economic, social,
political, and cultural diversity. In 2000 the region had 40 bi- or
multilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs). By November 2016, this
had increased significantly and countries in Asia were party to
over 147 bi- or multilateral FTAs, with 79 further FTAs not yet in
effect or under negotiation and another 67 proposed. This
development shows the growing influence of Asia regarding trade
liberalisation and affects global trade patterns. Sub-regional
economic cooperation initiatives such as GTI (established in 1995)
and PBG (initiated 2006) provide platforms for groups of countries,
economies and territories to join the integration process at their
own speed. They promote cooperation within specific areas, such
as trade and transport, investment, tourism, energy, or maritime
connectivity.
Given the development gaps in the region, it is even more
important to include smaller countries like Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Mongolia, Viet Nam into regional cooperation and to ensure that
they can benefit from regional integration. Involving emerging
economies like China into cooperation within the region is vital to
solve regional and, thus, global challenges of sustainable
development.

5. Approach
The SCSI Programme aims to support public stakeholders at the
(sub-) regional, national, and provincial level, as well as private
stakeholders in the context of sub-regional cooperation initiatives
and regional free trade agreements by providing capacity building
and organising trainings and dialogue events within the areas of
trade facilitation, cross-border cooperation, and maritime
cooperation. The programme intends to enhance the structural
conditions for regional economic cooperation, improve
implementation capabilities for relevant stakeholders, and foster
inclusion of the private sector in the regional integration process.
Wherever suitable, we contribute international and European
experiences as part of the process, and – in cooperation with
other GIZ programmes in the region – the transfer of regional
good practices through facilitation of knowledge exchange.
 Strengthening the organisational structure of sub-regional initiatives by providing international expertise, setting up knowledge-
sharing platforms and technical training about internal institutional processes.
 Strengthening the implementation capacity of actors involved in sub-regional cooperation regarding project planning, implementation
and monitoring within the framework of RECs.
 Improving the private sectors’utilisation rate of the ASEAN-China Free-Trade Agreement (ACFTA), in cooperation with export-oriented
business associations and chambers of commerce to overcome barriers to trade.
Focus Areas

6. Progress, Results and Prospects
The Programme builds on the results of the predecessor
Programme "Regional Cooperation and Integration in Asia" (RCI) as
well as on the experience gained through international cooperation
on a regional scale within the fields of economic integration and
private sector development.
To support the PBG process, the RCI Programme contributed to the
drafting of a road map for the way forward of PBG by supporting
selected priority sector studies. A study on the potential for port
cooperation in the PBG region was successfully conducted and
accompanied by workshops and study tours in the region. In the
course of its cooperation with GTI, the predecessor Programme
provided capacity building courses on cross-border and trade
facilitation activities for Northeast Asian local governments as
well as project management courses for the GTI Secretariat on a
regular basis.
In order to improve the capacities of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet
Nam to engage in economic cooperation, especially with China, the
SCSI Programme is implementing further trade capacity building
measures for public and private stakeholders. The Programme is
working closely with GTI to strengthen the institutional capacities
of the GTI Secretariat as well as the capacities of its member
country Mongolia through advisory services and trainings.
Therefore, SCSI works closely with GTI boards and committees to
support implementation processes.
In order to facilitate the exchange of good practices on sub-
regional integration, the SCSI Programme organises annual expert
forums with participants from all focus countries, providing a
platform for professional exchange of knowledge and best
practices for regional cooperation.
The capacity of partner countries to become involved in economic
integration processes through regional initiatives is thus enhanced
and will further evolve as expertise and resources are advanced.

7. Outreach
The GIZ SCSI Programme publishes regular updates on its
activities in order to offer insights and disseminate regional
knowledge on integration processes in Asia. The quarterly
newsletter “Connect Asia” updates its audience both in the
region and beyond on programme activities while also
commenting on recent developments in Asian regionalism.
Additionally, our programme publications provide in-depth
insights and policy recommendations derived from
implemented activities.
To download our publications and subscribe for the
newsletter please visit connecting-asia.org. The website
offers further information regarding the programme and
gives an up-to-date overview of programme activities.

8. Contact / Imprint
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GIZ is responsible for the content of this publication
Support for Economic Cooperation in
Sub-Regional Initiatives in Asia (SCSI)
Programme office
TaYuan Diplomatic Office
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T +86-10-8532-5344
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E scsi-asia@giz.de
I connecting-asia.org
As at
December 2016
Photo credits
GIZ
Text
SCSI Team
On behalf of
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
www.bmz.de