Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra departed for Kunming in southwestern China today, to attend a two-day Greater Mekong Sub-region Economic Cooperation Program (GMS) Summit and the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit.
Accompanying her are Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Foreign Affairs minister Maris Sangiampongsa.
Tomorrow, the Thai prime minister is due to attend the Leaders’ Retreat and a plenary session at the GMS gathering.
In the afternoon, she will attend the ACMECS summit before returning to Thailand, according to Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub.
The GMS summit will be held on the theme of “Toward a Better Community Through Innovation-driven Development” and will be attended by six Mekong sub-regional countries as well as the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), representatives of GMS Business Council and other concerned parties.
The GMS, established in 1992, brings together the six Mekong subregional countries of Cambodia, China (specifically Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
With its vision of a more prosperous, integrated, and harmonious subregion, the GMS strives to reduce disparities and ensure that no one is left behind. The GMS Program has adopted a three-pronged strategy—the "three Cs": connectivity, competitiveness, and community.
Laos, as chair, will host the 10th ACMECS summit, on the theme of “Towards Seamless Connectivity for Mekong Sub-regional Integration.”
The Thai Government House website reports that progress on the three goals of the ACMECS Master Plan 2019–2023, namely seamless connectivity, synchronised economies and a smart and sustainable ACMECS, will also be reviewed during the summit.
Myanmar will be next chair of ACMECS.
The ACMECS, launched in 2003 as a Thai initiative, is the only cooperation framework comprising five Mekong subregional countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It aims to bridge the economic gap among member countries and promote sustainable prosperity in the subregion.
ACMECS will benefit not only the five countries but also contribute to ASEAN’s cohesion.
Currently, the ACMECS Master Plan (2019–2023) is being implemented. Thailand views ACMECS as central to bridging other cooperation frameworks in the subregion.
