KUNMING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The total trade volume between southwest China's Yunnan Province and five countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) increased 5.6 percent year on year in 2018, the Yunnan governor said Monday.

The GMS covers the Lancang-Mekong River basin, bringing together China and five other countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Yunnan is looking forward to serving as a bridge linking the development strategies of all countries and to strengthening all-round connectivity," Yunnan governor Ruan Chengfa said at the 2019 GMS Economic Corridor Governors' Forum that opened Monday.

Ruan added that Yunnan will work with GMS countries to deepen regional green economic cooperation and promote the construction of regional "Digital Silk Road" and industrial parks.

At the forum, Sithichai Jindaluang, deputy governor of Thailand's Udon Thani Province, said that northeast Thailand is a key area linking China and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

The China-Laos-Thailand International Railway Corridor will promote trade and investment among the three countries and facilitate investment from the GMS countries in the industrial park in the Udon Thani Province, said the deputy governor.

The cooperation among the GMS countries started in 1992, when they entered into a program of subregional economic cooperation with the assistance from the Asian Development Bank.