The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries have capped off 2014 with the GMS 5th Summit in Bangkok, Thailand last December 19 – 20, 2014. The summit, a key activity among the GMS countries in promoting regional cooperation in the Mekong, has brought together national and government leaders from Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and China.
With the theme “Committed to Inclusive and Sustainable Development in the GMS,” 2014's summit focused on looking back and assessing the key achievements and progress in the GMS Economic Cooperation Program since the last summit in 2011.
Another core event in the Summit was the endorsement of the Regional Investment Framework Implementation Plan for 2014 – 2018, which lists priority investment projects for various sectors – from transportation and energy to human resource and urban development – in the Mekong countries. The said investment implementation plan is part of the GMS Strategic Framework (2010-2022) that was also endorsed and presented in the 4th summit in Myanmar in 2011.
In the Joint Summit Declaration released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the leaders from the 6 Mekong countries have pledged their support to the implementation of the priority projects. They also re-echoed the call to fully implement the Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA), which aims to streamline and enhance cross-country transport and connectivity. With climate change a felt and observed reality heavily impacting the region's socio-economic activities, the leaders also expressed their support to the holding of the GMS Environment Ministers Meeting in January 2015.
Likewise, to further the awareness and engagement of the youth sector in issues concerning the Mekong Subregion, the ADB has also organized the 2nd GMS Youth Forum to coincide with the GMS Summit. The Youth Forum kicked off with a youth caravan that took 36 participants, 6 from each of the GMS countries, on a 7-day trip and immersion in the Mekong sub-region. The actual forum served as a venue for the youth participants to discuss and most importantly, articulate their own youth message and recommendations to the GMS leaders on how the youth sector could be concretely involved in the projects and activities of the GMS.
The next GMS Summit will take place in Vietnam in 2017.
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