GREATER TUMEN INITIATIVE

Regional Economic Cooperation in Northeast Asia

Russian Federation

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BEIJING

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Mongolia

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D.P.R.Korea
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PYONGYANG SEOUL

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P.R.China

R.O.Korea
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Japan
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About GTI
Our Mission
As an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism, GTIs mission is to increase mutual benefits, to strengthen economic and technical cooperation, and to attain greater growth and sustainable development for the peoples and countries in Northeast Asia and the Greater Tumen Region in particular. The Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) is an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with a membership of four countries: Peoples Republic of China, Mongolia, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation. Created in 1995, GTI remains a unique platform for promoting economic cooperation and fostering peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.

GTI serves as a catalyst for expanding policy dialogue among member states and for strengthening the fundamentals for economic growth. Regional cooperation fostered by GTI has proven to be an effective way to improve basic infrastructure, ensure energy security, boost tourism development, facilitate trade and investment, and promote environmental sustainability in the region.

GTI Milestones
GTI was originally known as the Tumen River Area Development Programme (TRADP), launched by UNDP in 1991 to promote regional cooperation, economic development and environmental management in the Tumen River area.

In 1995, the Peoples Republic of China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), 1 Mongolia, Republic of Korea (ROK) and Russian Federation signed a formal agreement on the Establishment of the Consultative Commission for the Development of the Tumen River Economic Development Area and Northeast Asia, thus creating the legal basis for intergovernmental cooperation. The Consultative Commission is composed of high level government officials from the member states to foster support for the development of the region. Since then, the Programme has helped implement regional agreements on the development of infrastructure and the promotion of trade and investment, and has provided a forum for regular communication and cooperation among member states. In the Changchun Agreement, adopted in 2005, the member states agreed to extend their cooperation for another successive period of ten years (20062015), to re-brand TRADP as the Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) and to take the full ownership of GTI, with the continued support of UNDP . The GTI Strategic Action Plan 20062015 was also adopted to reaffirm the common vision of the member states. The new Initiative calls for strengthened regional interaction, expanded geographical coverage for cooperation, more concrete projects in the agreed priority sectors (transport, energy, tourism, investment and environment), and intensified efforts to involve the private sector in regional development.

The 2007 meeting of the GTI member governments was a turning-point for the Initiative, shifting from institutional activities to a more pragmatic approach for cooperation and development. Concrete GTI Projects in the priority sectors were identified to support economic development of the region. In addition, the GTI Institutional Structures, including the Tourism Board, Environment Board and Energy Board were established to strengthen effective cooperation in each sector, and the Business Advisory Council was created as a mechanism for public-private collaboration, constructively engaging the private sector in regional development. Later, at GTIs most recent intergovernmental meeting in 2009, the Transport Board and Trade Facilitation Committee were established, further demonstrating the progress achieved in regional cooperation. Today, GTI continues to strengthen regional cooperation through its Institutional Structures to implement GTI Projects and other activities. GTI establishes strong partnerships with governments, nongovernmental organizations, development agencies and the private sector to extend cooperative activities in Northeast Asia. Regional cooperation has not only led to economic prosperity and sustainable development in the region, but also significantly contributed to regional solidarity and stability. At present, GTI is in the process of becoming an international organization with its own legal personality. This legal transition will ensure the future growth of GTI and lay a stable foundation for further intergovernmental cooperation in Northeast Asia.
1

DPRK withdrew from GTI as of 5 November 2009

Institutional Structures
The decision-making Th dec d ecis isio ion n-ma mak king institution king ins i nsti titu tuti tion on o of f GT GTI I is the th t he Consultative he Cons Co nsul ulta ltati tive ve Commission Com C ommi miss ssio ion n, composed comp co mpos osed d of of government gove go vern rnme ment nt officials offi o fficia ffic ial ls from ls fro f rom m each each h member mem m emb ber state ber stat st ate e (one (one Vice Ministerial level official and three other officials). The role of the Commission is to foster support for the development of Northeast Asia and the Greater Tumen Region Reg gion in particular. particular. The Chairperson Chairp person of the Consultative Commission is elected on a rotation basis. Mr. Yi Xiaozhun, Xiao Xi aozh zhun un, , Vice Vice Minister Min M inis iste ter r of Commerce, Com C omme merc rce, e, China Chi C hina na was was elected ele e lect cted ed at at the the 10th 10th meeting mee m eeti ting ng of of the the GTI GTI Consultative Cons Co nsul ulta tati tive ve Commission Com C ommi miss ssio ion n as the the Chairperson Cha C hair irpe pers rson on until unti til il the th he next next Consultative Con C onsu sul ltati ltat ive Commission ive Commi Comm issi is sion ion meeting mee m eeti ting ing to to be be held hel eld ld in in China Chi C hina hi na in in September Septem Sept emb ber 2010. ber 2010 20 10. 10 The primary primary y role of the GTI Tumen Secretariat is to provide provide support sup ppo p rt and to execute the decisions of the Consultative Commission. The Secretariat Secr Se cret etar aria iat t is based bas ased ed in in Beijing, Beij Be ijin ing, g, China Chi hina na and and currently cur urre rent ntly ly headed hea eade ded d by the the Director, Dir irec ecto tor, r, Ms. Ms. Nataliya Nat atal aliy iya a Yacheistova. Yach Ya chei eist stov ova. a. In In addition addi ad diti tion on to to the the core core staff sta taff ff at the the Secretariat, there are also a number of staff members seconded by the member governments. The National Coordinators in each GTI country are the implementing and coordinating bodies of GTI in the member states. GTI GTI Institutional Inst In stit titut uti tiona ional l Structures Stru St ruct ctur tures es were wer w ere e created crea cr eat ted in ted in 2007 200 2 007 00 7 2009 2009 to to strengthen stre st treng ngth then th en inter-governmental int nter ter-g gov over ernm nmen ent tal economic tal econ ec onom omi ic cooperation ic coo c oope pera rati tion ti on in in the the priority pri pr iori io rit ity ty sectors, sec s ect tors, tors , including g the Tourism Board, Energy Energ gy Board, Transport Transpo p rt Board and Environment Board. The Business Advisory y Council was established to promote prom pr omot ote e private-public priv pr ivat ate e-pu publ blic ic dialogue dia d ialo logu gue e and and partnerships. part pa rtne ners rshi hips ps.

GTI CONSULTATIVE COMMISSION

Chairperson
(Mr. Yi Xiaozhun, Vice Minister of Commerce, China)

National Coordinators

Tumen Secretariat
(Director, Ms. Nataliya Yacheistova)

Business Advisory Council

(Chair, Mr. James Zimmerman & Co-Chair, Mr. Wang Junhao)

China: Ministry of Commerce ROK: Ministry of Strategy and Finance Mongolia: Ministry of Finance Russia: Ministry of Economic Development

Transport Board

Tourism Board

Energy Board

Environment Board

Intergovernmental Meetings
The annual meeting of the GTI Consultative Commission is a ministerial-level intergovernmental meeting, building an eective platform for Northeast Asian states to discuss regional cooperation issues.

The 8th Meeting of the GTI Consultative Commission (Sept. 2005, Changchun) marked a major step forward for GTI as the member governments agreed to extend the initially concluded cooperation agreements for another ten years (2006-2015) and adopted the Changchun Agreement, in which they committed to take full ownership of GTI by increasing their contribution in financial and human resources, with the continued support of UNDP. The meeting also adopted the GTI Strategic Action Plan 2006 2015, identifying four priority sectors for cooperation: transport, energy, tourism and investment, with environment as a cross-cutting theme.

The 9th Meeting of the GTI Consultative Commission (Nov. 2007, Vladivostok) proved to be a turning-point, shifting GTI towards a more pragmatic approach for cooperation and development. A number of GTI projects in priority sectors were earmarked by the member states for joint realisation. The Energy Board, Tourism Board and Environment Board were created to facilitate cooperation in these sectors. With the support of the UN Office for Partnerships and UNDP, the GTI Business Advisory Council (BAC) was established to promote private-public partnerships for Northeast Asian regional cooperation.

The 10th Meeting of the GTI Consultative Commission (March 2009, Ulaanbaatar) demonstrated significant progress in regional cooperation. The GTI Transport Board was established with the purpose of developing efficient transport infrastructure and logistical networks in the region, and the GTI Trade Facilitation Committee was created in order to promote regional trade and reduce trade barriers among the GTI member states. During this meeting, the first ever joint session between the GTI Consultative Commission and BAC laid a solid foundation for strengthening publicprivate dialogue in Northeast Asia.

* The 11th Meeting of the GTI Consultative Commission will be held in Changchun, China on 1 September 2010, back to back to the 6th Northeast Asia Expo.

Focus Sectors
As stated in the GTI Strategic Action Plan 2006 2015, GTI focuses on four priority sectors for cooperation: Transport, Energy, Tourism and Investment, with Environment as a cross-cutting theme. The successful growth of these sectors will create a robust investment infrastructure and enhance sustainable growth in the region. Within all these sectors, the member states are committed to ensuring that environmental sustainability is the key pillar of development in the region.

Transport
The Greater Tumen Region has enormous untapped potential as a regional transport hub. Sitting at the crossroads of trade and transport routes between Europe, Northeast Asia, and Nor th America, the Greater Tumen Region offers companies and countries unparalleled access to both new and existing markets. GTI member states aside, countries like Japan and the United States also have strong interests in observing the Tumen Transport Corridor raised to international standards so they too may benefit from the considerable time and cost savings for transit trade. The private sector is playing an increasingly important role in transport development initiatives, and can help shape the region into a world-class transport corridor. The GTI Transport Board supports economic cooperation through the development of adequate transport infrastructure and logistical networks.

Tourism
From the steppes of Mongolia to the historical cities of Northeast China, through to the spiritual mountains of China and Korea and to the frontiers of the Russian Far East, the Greater Tumen Region holds the potential to develop a thriving tourism industry that can enhance regional cooperation and reduce poverty. Under GTI, the member states are seeking to harmonise tourism policies, simplify frontier formalities, and introduce multi-destination Greater Tumen Region tourism products. The GTI Tourism Board brings together public and private stakeholders as well as experts to help define and prioritise the initiatives for regional tourism development.
The Inaugural Meeting of the GTI Tourism Council (the predecessor of the GTI Tourism Board) was held on 12 June 2008 in Seoul, ROK. This landmark meeting brought together government representatives from ROK, China, Mongolia and Russia to discuss strategies for promoting tourism activities in Northeast Asia. The 2nd GTI Tourism Board Meeting was held in September 2009 in Changchun, China and strongly boosted regional cooperation on trans-border tourism development and adopted the GTI Tourism Action Plan 2010-2012.

The GTI Transport Workshop held on 19 December 2009 in Hunchun, China strengthened regional cooperation on transport development in NE Asia and the Greater Tumen Region in particular. This Workshop focused on the promotion of the Northeast Asia Ferry Route project as well as the infrastructural development of the Tumen River Transportation Corridor.

The 3rd GTI Tourism Board Meeting will be held on 20-21 May, 2010 in Vladivostok, Russia.