MANILA, Sept. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Ministers from the six countries sharing the Mekong river will discuss concrete ways to create a better-integrated, more prosperous, and equitable region at a three-day conference in Yunnan province of Southwest China.

　　The 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program in Dali city will put high on its agenda the further opening up of borders, speeding up of priority projects, and dialogue with development partners, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a leading sponsor for the meeting, announced on Monday.

　　Ministers of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, are expected to take a major step forward in further opening up their borders, and to complement ongoing trans-border road projects, an important component of the GMS program.

　　The meeting will discuss ways to carry forward the proposals made by the GMS leaders at their first summit last November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

　　Participants will also review the progress made so far, and discuss future directions and implementation of the flagship initiatives bringing greater connectivity and competitiveness to the GMS.

　　Since the inception of the GMS program in 1992, the ADB has been a major partner. The governments of the region together with the support of ADB and other development partners have financed 15major infrastructure projects, representing investments totaling over 2 billion US dollars.

　　Helping to strengthen the trust and confidence among countries,the GMS program has achieved numerous tangible results in such keyareas as road transport, energy, environment and human resources development.

　　In a major effort to mobilize support from development partnersfor the flagship initiatives, GMS officials will meet representatives from other bilateral and multilateral donor institutions and organizations, and the private sector. Enditem