European development partners will gather in Stockholm, Sweden, next week to explore cooperation and investment opportunities in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Monday.

    At the Mekong Development Forum, to be held on April 3-4, was jointly sponsored by the ADB, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will present the accomplishments and challenges faced by the GMS in key sectors - energy, environment, and transport, said ADB in a news release.

    The GMS, a subregional economic cooperation initiative, began in 1992 with ADB assistance. The GMS participating countries are Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

    In the last decade, these countries have undergone significant economic transformation and the subregion has emerged as a key factor in the development equation for South and Southeast Asia, said ADB.

    However, challenges remain such as achievement of sound environmental management, reliable energy supply, and improved transport connectivity, which are needed to achieve the development goals of the subregion, said ADB.

    "As the GMS countries are becoming more integrated, the implementation of the GMS Program requires stronger and broader partnerships to mobilize the needed intellectual and financial resources so that they can bring about effective and timely outcomes in the region," says ADB Vice President Liqun Jin.

    "Expanding cooperation with both public and private sector development partners is crucial to create greater impact and accelerate poverty reduction in the GMS," said Jin.

    Representatives from GMS countries, public and private development agencies mostly from the Nordic countries, and European development agencies are expected to attend the forum.

    "Our European development partners, particularly in the Nordic countries, are significant contributors to and investors in the GMS region," said Jin.

    "We hope that the Forum will particularly demonstrate to the European private sector that there are vast and very real investment opportunities emerging in the GMS," he added.

    Source: Xinhuanet