(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-30 13:51

PHNOM PENH - The Summit of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) nations is expected to endorse a five-year action plan (2008-2012) soon to foster economic growth and prosperity in the region, a press release said here on Sunday.

Prime ministers of the six countries sharing the Mekong River are convening in the Lao People's Democratic Republic for the Third GMS Summit, said the press release from the ADB (Asian Development Bank) office in Cambodia.

The six Mekong nations are the Laos, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.

The prime ministers will discuss coordinated actions to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in the region through expanded transportation and telecommunication linkages, streamlined trade agreements, and greater environmental management efforts, it said.

"The nations and 320 million people who share the Mekong region have transcended past conflicts in order to work together for the betterment of their shared futures," said Arjun Thapan, Director General of ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

"The gains realized by Mekong nations over the past 15 years clearly demonstrate that coordination and cooperation between neighbors is the most direct pathway to greater prosperity," he added.

GMS program focuses on nine development areas, including agriculture, energy, the environment, human resource development, private investment, telecommunications, tourism, trade and transportation, the release said.

ADB has been the lead supporter of the Greater Mekong Sub- region Economic Cooperation Program since it began in 1992.