By Tsogtsaikhan Gombo
Deputy Director, Tumen Secretariat
After decades of isolation, the Tumen Region has emerged as a fast developing area with a promising future. Parts of the region have seen high sustained economic growth for the last ten years; cargo volumes and passenger traffic across the region's borders have quadrupled or more during the past five years; four new shipping routes have opened in the same period, and three new border crossing points have been built. The region has irreversibly embraced economic cooperation and integration and opened up to the rest of the world.
UNDP has supported this process from the outset, and I firmly believe that after more than a decade of successes, setbacks and hard work, the Tumen Programme can legitimately claim its place in the historical process of regional cooperation in Northeast Asia. Thanks to the dedication and confidence of all involved, and the strong support and commitment of the national governments, the Tumen Programme has reached an important stage in its endeavour to integrate the region with world markets, improve cross-border relations and stability, and lay the foundations for prosperity.
Having said that, there is still a long way to go before the region can reach its potential as a dynamic economic center with the level of infrastructure facilities and quality of life that would contribute to the development and integration of Northeast Asia as a whole. The region's strengths include abundant natural resources a strategic location between developed and developing markets and inter-continental transport routes, inexpensive labour, and backing from the central governments. What is required to reach a higher level of development is shared vision and greater determination to achieve economic integration. Fortunately, the member governments are well aware of the remaining issues, and are ready to resolve them.
Last year, representatives from the five member countries (China, DPRK, Mongolia, ROK and the Russian Federation) recommended that the Tumen Programme become more involved in cooperation in the energy and telecommunications sectors. The Tumen Programme, with its well-established institutional framework and extensive network of partnerships, can play an important role in adding value to the development of these sectors in Northeast Asia.
To this end, we are establishing Working Groups in the energy and telecommunications sectors. In other sectors, while at the same time continuing with its traditional role as facilitator for policy dialogue among the Programme member countries. Current projects of the Tumen Programme aim to achieve tangible results, including establishment of Tumen Investor Services Centers and development of multi-destination tours to the Tumen Region. There are ongoing discussions regarding establishment of the Northeast Asia/Tumen Investment Corporation, which would mark a very important step towards securing financing for infrastructure projects critical to linking the region.
Having worked with the Tumen Programme for nearly four years, I am confident that the member countries will carefully nurture the process of economic cooperation which they have started, and enhance social and political interaction across the region. I have no doubt that in time the Tumen Region will provide its inhabitants with a high quality of life, confirming the role of the Tumen Programme as a model of regional cooperation.