At the First GMS Summit, leaders of the six Mekong countries issued a joint declaration, entitled "Making it Happen: A Common Strategy on Cooperation for Growth, Equity and Prosperity in the Greater Mekong Subregion" in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 3 November 2002.

The GMS leaders endorsed the first GMS Strategic Framework, 2002–2012 and launched the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management.