Changing global and regional trends have underlined the importance of cooperation between the six nations in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) and convinced them to consider emerging challenges and opportunities and define new frontiers of cooperation.

The Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Lawrence Greenwood, delivered this message at the opening of the 16 th GMS Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi on August 20.

Greenwood said that the new frontiers of cooperation include climate change and the environment, food and energy security, as well as factors that enable the GMS countries to cope better with these challenges and enhance sustainable competitiveness.

At the meeting, representatives from Cambodia , Laos , Myanmar , Thailand , Vietnam and China ’s Yunnan province as well as ADB officials are scheduled to review the medium-term Vientiane Plan of Action for GMS Development during the 2008-2012 period.

They will also discuss the preparations for the next GMS long-term strategic framework over the 2012-2022 period.

The meeting is expected to endorse a Strategy and Action Plan for the GMS Southern Economic Corridor, which focuses on upgrading traffic systems and facilitating trade within the sub-region.

Chairing the meeting, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said he hoped the member nations would resolve to carry out the GMS initiatives.

With assistance having been provided by the ADB since 1992, the GMS countries have taken part in cooperation programmes in various fields, including transport, energy, telecoms, human resources development, the environment, natural resources management, trade facilitation, private investment, tourism and agriculture./.