$0The cooperation of development partners plays an important role in the development of agendas of nations in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) within the framework of the GMS Programme. $0 $0 The remark was made at a press briefing in Hanoi on August 20 to inform the outcomes of the 16 th GMS Ministerial Meeting, held in Hanoi on August 19-20, and the implementation of the GMS Programme. $0 $0 The conference, which was co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) is seen as an important factor in the cooperation and development of partnership to support the GMS Programme. $0 $0 Vietnam has recorded remarkable achievements in diverse areas in the cooperative initiative, Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said. He stressed that the GMS economic cooperation has effectively operated the regional cooperative mechanism. $0 $0 “To overcome the challenges that have risen during the regional cooperation, the GMS countries are coordinating and adjusting their own macro cooperation policies,” the minister said. $0 $0 C. Lawrence Greenwood, ADB Vice President, considered strengthening participation of stakeholders a core factor to fully achieve benefits from current linkages. $0 $0 Issues of emerging importance include climate change and environment, food security and energy efficiency, he said. $0 $0 At the conference, development partners pledged to continue their supports for the GMS Programme in terms of finance, policy, institution, capacity development and the development of transport, commerce, environment, water resources of Mekong River, renewable energy in rural areas, human resources, migration-related initiatives, and public-private partership. $0 $0 By the end of 2009, development partners had provided nearly 3.5 billion USD for GMS nations $0 $0 Since 1992, the six contries of the GMS – Cambodia , China , Laos , Myanmar , Thailand and Vietnam- have participated in another comprehensive programme of economic cooperation covering many fields including transport, energy, human resources development and agiculture with the support of the ADB and other development partners. $0 $0 Expanding the interconnection of economies of the GMS countries is seen to be a mean of increasing over all economic growth and improving regional stability. The GMS Programme has helped generate significant benefits for the nations that share the Mekong River . Economic opportunities and growth have dramatically expanded and poverty rates have been cut in half./.$0
