VIENTIANE, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from the business community of the six countries sharing the Mekong River here on Sunday held discussions on how to enhance the involvement of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the export market.

    Representatives from GMS Business Forum (GMS-BF) members, leading business communities, the offices of the GMS National Coordinators and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) met here for the GMS Business and Investment Dialogue (BID).

    The BID participants share the view that enabling SMEs to engage more fully in international trade lies at the core of building competitiveness of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

    The six GMS countries, namely, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam recognize the importance of the private sector as an engine of growth in national and sub-regional development.

    And the private sector is becoming an increasingly important partner in providing the growing intellectual support and financial resources required to develop the GMS.

    The BDI participants see it as a more practical strategy for SMEs to participate in global value chains and recommends that a mapping exercise of global value chain opportunities for SMEs should be undertaken.

    They see the lack of access by SMEs to credit for financing their exports as a major constraint to their ability to participate in the export market. In order to address the problem, the GMS-BF proposes the setting up of an SME Regional Development Fund that will provide technical assistance and equity financing for SMEs.

    The fund itself will not provide guarantees directly to SMEs in individual countries. The local guarantee institutions to be set up under the scheme would deal directly with addressing particular country issues on SME financing.

    Enhancing Private Sector Participation and Competitiveness is one of the 11 GMS flagship programs under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program (GMS Program).

    The GMS Business Forum was established in October 2000 under the framework of the GMS Program, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), to promote private sector participation, and trade and investment between and among the six GMS countries.

    During the Second GMS Summit in Kunming, China, the GMS Business and Investment Dialogue was introduced as a component event of the Summit to enjoin the private sector in GMS discussions and endeavors.