ACMECS member countries agreed to build activity-based cooperation in the following priority areas of cooperation.

1. Trade and Investment Facilitation:
-  to capitalize the comparative advantage of the countries concerned;
-  to facilitate smooth flow of goods and investment for job creation;
-  to create income generation and reduce socioeconomic disparities.

2. Agricultural Cooperation:
-  to strengthen and enhance cooperation efforts in agriculture by joint production, marketing and purchasing
   arrangements, research and development and exchange of information.

3. Industrial and Energy Cooperation

- to Promote investment in industrial infrastructure, particularly supporting and logistic industries along the East - West Economic Corridor (EWEC), the North South Economic Corridor (NSEC) and the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), as well as to support and to enhance the competitiveness of the ACMECS SMEs;

- To promote cooperation in alternative and renewable sources of energy including hydro- power and solar energy sector as well as raising awareness and knowledge on energy efficiency.

4. Transport linkages:
-  to develop and utilize transport linkages among the countries concerned;
-  to facilitate trade, investment, agriculture and industrial production and tourism.

5. Tourism Cooperation:
-  to promote a joint strategy for tourism cooperation among the countries concerned;
-  to facilitate tourism among the four countries and from the other regions.

6. Human Resources Development:
-  to enhance capacity building of peoples and institutions;
-  to initiate measures to develop a HRD strategy that is regionally competitive.

7. Public Health

-  to promote research and development and enhance capacity building on public health issues.

8. Environment

- During the 3rd ACMECS Summit in Hanoi, 2008, leaders expressed their support for the establishment of Environment Cooperation as a new area of cooperation. 

At the 3rd ACMECS SOM (19 August 2004, Yangon, Myanmar), the Meeting agreed  that each area of cooperation should have a member country volunteer to serve as coordinator to ensure that work in that area moves forward.

In order to expedite progress in all areas of cooperation identified in the Bagan Declaration, the ACMECS Special SOM and Ministerial Retreat (1-2 November 2004, Krabi Province, Thailand) agreed to establish a working group for each sector of cooperation. Each member country has volunteered to serve as Coordinating Country for the sector in which it takes particular interest, as follows:

                        Trade and Investment Facilitation - Thailand

                    Agricultural Cooperation – Myanmar

                    Industrial and Energy Cooperation- Vietnam

                    Transport Linkages - Lao PDR

                    Tourism Cooperation - Cambodia

                    Human Resources Development - Vietnam

                    Public Health* - Thailand

*ACMECS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Siem Reap on 5 August 2005 agreed to establish a public health sector as a new sector of cooperation.