The Working Group on Agriculture (WGA) was established by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in January 2003 among countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) – Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Yunnan Province of the People’s Republic of China – to facilitate consultations on common issues in the agricultural sector and identify opportunities for increased regional cooperation. CIRAD (Centre of International Co-operation in Agricultural Research for Development) has participated in WGA meetings and has shared its experience in the development of collaborative research platforms with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) in the region. Based on WGA discussions and a meeting at the ADB Headquarters in Manila in October 2004, it was suggested to write a concept note on the development of an Agricultural Knowledge Platform for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (AgriMek Regional Platform Initiative) to be proposed to the Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources Division, MKRD, of the ADB, in close coordination with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), its Bangkok-based Regional Co-operation Unit, and AFD (French Agency for Development.