Two SEZ reports for the East Asian region presented at high-level policy forums

Project expert Prof. Aradhna Aggarwal published two comprehensive reports this year on commission from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on SEZ policies under two subregional cooperation programs in East Asia. The findings of both reports were presented at high-level policy forums in November 2022. The more recent report Special Economic Zones for Shared Prosperity. Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) was presented in the 25^th BIMP-EAGA Ministerial Meeting on 26 November in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia and was also mentioned in the joint ministerial statement. The other report on the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), released in February 2022, was presented in the 14^th IMT-GT Leaders’ Summit on 10 November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and was referred to in the Summit’s joint statement. 

Both reports address strategies to turn SEZs into engines of subregional growth. They identify the challenges facing SEZs and provide policy recommendations to support active clustering and specialization efforts in the subregions. An earlier press release on the IMT-GT report can be found here.