Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein is due to attend a two-day Third GMS Summit scheduled for March 30-31 in Vientiane, Laos. Together with other heads of government, Thein Sein is expected to consult sharing of efforts in boosting economic cooperation among the GMS member countries.

Initiated by the Asian Development Bank, the GMS-Economic Cooperation was founded in 1992 to bring together China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam along the Mekong river.

Since then, Myanmar has joined in signing several GMS agreements, under which the six participating countries have prioritized some 100 projects in eight sectors including investment, trade, transport, tourism, telecommunications, energy, environment and human resources development.

Covered by the Mekong project in the transport sector, Myanmar has built some major roads in its border areas such as Lashio-Muse road, Lashio-Hsipaw-Loilem-Kengtung road, and Tachilek-Kengtung- Mongla road.

Aimed at developing the international passenger and cargo transportation, trade and tourism on the Lancang-Mekong river, Myanmar joined three other countries located in the upper reaches of the Mekong river — China, Laos and Thailand, in signing a commercial navigation agreement in April 2000 in Myanmar’s Tachilek.

Under the agreement, which provides for vessels of any signatory country to sail freely between Simao in China and Luangprabang in Laos. Myanmar opened two ports along with three other signatories for the move. The Lancang-Mekong international waterway was officially opened to commercial navigation in June 2001.

As part of its bid to boost arrivals of world tourists and those from the third countries visiting the two border areas, Myanmar had the Wan Pon port checkpoint in Tachilek upgraded in January 2007 along with the Ban Muang Mom checkpoint from the Lao side to meet international standard.

With regard to cross-border transportation, Myanmar also joined five other GMS nations in signing an agreement and a protocol in April 2004 in Phnom Penh.

Moreover, Myanmar has been engaged in a plan to build a bridge crossing the Mekong River to link Laos. The bridge, which will be the first connecting the two countries, is projected near Kengkoke on the Myanmar-Lao border linking with the R-3 road section connecting Thailand’s Chiangmai and China’s Kunming.

Similar to the R-3 section, the R-4 section connecting Kunming and Myanmar’s Lashio and Kengtung provides access for the GMS countries to cross into Myanmar.