Economic development in the GMS
has outpaced many other parts of the world over
the past two decades,
as
characterized by national average annual
Gross Domestic
Product (
GDP) gr
owth rates of between 5 to 10% in this period. Between 2000 and
2009
average annual GDP of
GMS
grew at a rate of over 9.5%. Much
of the growth
in the subregion was fueled by intra-
regional
demand for food, energy and
commodities.
Between 1992 and 2004, exports grew by 300% while intra-
regional
trade expanded even more dramatically –
by 11 times.
Foreign
direct
investment
(FDI) has contributed significantly towards development with increasing amounts
originating within the region.