Northeast Asian Economic Cooperation

광역두만강계획(GTI; Greater Tumen Initiative)는 중국, 몽골, 한국, 러시아를 회원국으로 하고 있는 동북아시아의 정부간 지역협력체이다. GTI는 1991년 유엔개발계획(UNDP)이 1991년 두만강유역개발계획(TRADP; Tumen River Area Development Program (TRADP)으로 처음 시작한 것으로 2005년 지역을 광역화하면서 현재의 이름으로 바뀌었다. 아울러 GTI는 장춘합의(Changchun Agreement)에 따라 2006-2015년간의 소위 GTI 전략실천계획(Strategic Action Plan)을 실시하기로 하였다. 이 전략계획은 특히 동북아시아 지역의 지방정부 및 기업들과의 협력을 강화하기로 하고 협력분야를 운송, 에너지, 관광, 투자, 환경 등 5개 분야로 하기로 하였다. 본 연구는 그동안 진행되어 온 GTI의 전반적인 내용과 함께 전략실천계획을 검토한 뒤, 문제점을 지적하고 대안을 제시하였다.

The Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI), originally known as the Tumen River Area Development Program (TRADP), is an intergovernmental regional cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia, with a membership of four countries: Peoples Republic of China, Mongolia, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. Initiated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1991, the TRADP development continued under UNDP until the transition of full ownership to member states in 2005, re-branding to GTI. Under the Changchun Agreement, the member states agreed to extend their cooperation for another successive period of ten years and adopted the GTI Strategic Action Plan 2006-2015. The new initiative called for strengthened regional interaction with the local governments in Northeast Asia and partnerships with the private sector; expanded geographical coverage to represents the less developed areas among the member states including landlocked regions, and prioritising on more concrete projects in the agreed sectors of: transport, energy, tourism, investment and environment. This paper evaluates GTI progress, in particular from 2006-2010, with checks on relevant GTI plans and progress reports in order to identify current issues and opportunities. This paper then provides recommendations on how the challenges identified from the first objective can be overcome promptly and effectively.