H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, joined the delegation led by H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, to attend the 6th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit during 30 – 31 March 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Meeting was hosted by 

H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. H.E. Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E Mr. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and H.E. U Henry Van Thio, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also led their delegations to the Summit.

          The Summit carried the theme “Leveraging on 25 Years of Cooperation, and Building a Sustainable, Integrated, and Prosperous GMS,” highlighting the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation Programme, where the leaders from the six GMS countries reviewed and assessed the progress made under the Programme; renewed their commitment to subregional cooperation and its goals, and provided broad directions for key initiatives under the GMS Programme. 

          The GMS leaders adopted a joint declaration for the summit at the plenary session. They also formally adopted the Ha Noi Action Plan 2018 – 2022 to ensure effectiveness in the implementation of the GMS Economic Cooperation Programme, as well as the Regional Investment Framework 2022 which supports the 5-year action plan through a rolling pipeline of more than 200 investment and technical assistance projects.

          The Prime Minister of Thailand delivered a statement reiterating the importance of GMS’s 3C strategies: Connectivity, Competiveness, and Community for future success of GMS cooperation. He also attended the GMS Business Summit held on 30 March 2018 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation among stakeholders and the private sector. At the Business Summit, the Prime Minister delivered a statement highlighting the government's concept of Thailand 4.0, the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), and the efforts to apply modern technology and innovations in various sectors to boost the country's economy and its competitiveness.

          Furthermore, the Prime Minister had bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, and the State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. The leaders expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation on the enhancement of seamless connectivity as well as harmonization of rules and regulations to facilitate trade, investment and tourism. The meetings reflected the friendship and strong bonds between Thailand and the three countries.

          The GMS is a natural economic area bound together by the Mekong River. The GMS countries are Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China (Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region). In 1992, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the six countries entered into a programme of subregional economic cooperation, designed to enhance economic relations among the countries.