Though facing challenges, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries have corresponding opportunities for development, leaders attending the third GMS summit said in Vientiane on Monday.
Prime ministers of the six countries sharing the Mekong River – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – gathered in Vientiane for their third summit meeting held on March 30-31 to discuss ways to deepen economic cooperation for their countries' shared prosperity.
In the Joint Summit Declaration signed on Monday, the leaders noted that facing the emergency of health risks, human and drug trafficking and growing environmental threats, there are lots of opportunities, including rapid spread of global supply chains, the growth of free trade areas, strong moves towards regionalism, and robust economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
To enhance the subregion's competitiveness, the GMS countries will promote the use of the improved and expanded infrastructure to increase trade, investment and tourism, the leaders said, adding that they will ensure the safety and effective utilization of infrastructure, and put into practice necessary relevant rules and regulations.
The six countries will also enhance manpower capacity, and better manage their environment and natural resources, and streamline sub-regional projects and initiatives relating to infrastructure and human resource development, tourism, and trade and investment promotion to avoid duplication and gain greater complement, synergy and efficiency, the declaration said.
Besides, they welcomed a proposal to establish the Economic Corridors Forum, and committed to greater efforts to promote private sector participation in GMS development and planning.
The six countries in 1992 kicked off their GMS Program which involves planning and implementing sub-regional projects in nine areas: transport, energy, telecommunications, tourism, environment, human resource development, agriculture, trade facilitation, and private investment.
(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2008)
