Leaders from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) nations agreed in Vientiane on Monday to make progress on trade facilitation and investment sectors in the region.

In the Joint Summit Declaration signed on the third GMS summit held in the Lao capital city of Vientiane, prime ministers of the six GMS member countries said that they will take measures to harmonize and integrate procedures and systems to facilitate border crossing formalities, including customs, immigration, and quarantine.

The prime ministers of the six countries sharing the Mekong River – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam – gathered in Vientiane for the summit held on March 30-31 to discuss ways to deepen economic cooperation for their countries' shared prosperity.

According to the joint declaration, the GMS six countries will invigorate cooperation in investment and expand the participation of the GMS Business Forum in the GMS program.

Business leaders from the six countries held discussions in Vientiane on Sunday on the key challenges in enhancing trade and investment in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Since 1992, GMS countries have embarked on a program of economic cooperation which aims to promote development through closer economic links.

The First GMS Summit was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2002, while the Second GMS Summit was held in Kunming, China in July 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2008)