Saturday, 29 March 2008

Mekong countries striving for shared prosperity

chinaview.cn
2008-03-29

Special report: Premier Wen visits Laos, attends GMS Summit

VIENTIANE, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the six countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) are gathering here on Saturday for their third summit meeting scheduled for March 30-31 to discuss ways to deepen economic cooperation for their countries' shared prosperity.

The theme of the Third GMS Summit is "Enhancing Competitiveness through Greater Connectivity".

The leaders of the six countries sharing the Mekong River -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam -- will talk about how connectivity improvements could help expand markets, improve access to social services, and protect the environment at the triennial meeting.

The meeting aims to sustain and deepen economic cooperation and integration efforts among the GMS countries in order to better meet development challenges and realize the common vision of an integrated, harmonious and prosperous subregion.

President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Haruhiko Kuroda will join the summit meeting. ADB has been financing subregional projects in the GMS, in the form of loans and technical assistance grants since 1992.

Ceremonies marking progress under the GMS Program will be held during the Third GMS Summit. These events include the opening of the section in northern Lao PDR of a road corridor running from Chinese city Kunming to Thai capital of Bangkok; signing of an agreement on power trade, and inauguration of a six-country broadband information platform.

Meetings between the leaders the youth and business representatives from the six countries will also be held.

The Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Program (the GMS Program) was started in 1992 by the six Mekong countries. It involves planning and carrying out sub-regional projects in nine areas: transport, energy, telecommunications, tourism, environment, human resource development, agriculture, trade facilitation, and private investment.

With the support of the (ADB) and other development partners, the GMS Program is helping the six Mekong countries foster economic growth and reduce poverty through increased connectivity, improved competitiveness and a greater sense of community.

Connectivity is being established through transport corridors, power interconnection systems, and telecommunication networks. Economic competitiveness is being improved through better infrastructure links, and measures to ease the movement of goods and services across borders. A sense of community is being fostered through joint actions that address shared social and environmental concerns, such as preventing the spread of communicable diseases, and protecting biodiversity and ecosystems.

The Summit is the highest forum in the GMS Program, serving as the venue where the GMS Leaders can review the progress of, and agree on future directions, for the GMS Program.

The First GMS Summit was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2002, while the Second GMS Summit was held in Kunming, China in July 2005.

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