Promote the development of Mekong-Lan Thuong cooperation mechanisms

 

Could you please tell us the significance and main results of this Mekong-Lan Thuong meeting?

Firstly, this conference marks 5 years of establishment and development of the Mekong-Lan Thuong cooperation mechanism and also an opportunity to mid-term review the implementation of the first 5-year cooperation plan (period 2018 - 2022) among the six member countries.

This Mekong-Lan Thuong Summit is also very special, held in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which is having a huge impact on economies around the globe. At the meeting, the leaders affirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the countries of the Mekong-Lan Thuong region and stated that this is an important opportunity for the senior leaders of the six countries to discuss about major regional issues and unifying directions and measures to address common challenges.

After reviewing the entire Mekong-Lan Thuong cooperation process from its inception to the present, especially the implementation of the MLC Cooperation Action Plan 2018-2022, the Leaders highly appreciated the implementation. The three main pillars are political cooperation, economic cooperation and sustainable development and cultural exchange cooperation between the Mekong - Lan Thuong countries, although in a short time but has come into reality, be effective and bring great benefits to member states as well as citizens and businesses. This is also shown clearly in the process of close cooperation between the parties to successfully respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years.

Second, the Conference discussed two main contents as follows: Reviewing the implementation of the agreed cooperation plans; Orientation for future cooperation.

Regarding the cooperation situation, in general, the Leaders highly appreciated the results of cooperation achieved in the past two years, especially the fact that six countries have implemented more than 300 technical assistance projects in various fields. trade, investment, tourism, agriculture, water resources management ... Some specialized cooperation centers such as Global Center for Mekong Studies, Center for Water Resources Cooperation, Center for Environmental Cooperation The agricultural cooperation center and school was established and put into stable operation.

Regarding the upcoming cooperation, the Leaders affirmed their determination to promote cooperation and coordinate to deal with environmental, economic and social challenges facing member countries. Accordingly, the six countries will promote cooperation in the three pillars (politics, economy - sustainable development and culture - society) and five priority areas (including connectivity, water resource management, and cooperation. production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, agriculture and poverty alleviation). Some highlights that were agreed upon by Leaders include: Strengthening medical cooperation to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through joint research activities, policy dialogue, and sharing of treatment experiences. and prevent and improve the capacity to handle urgent medical problems, ensure equal access to sources of vaccines and medicines.

Ensuring stability for regional production and supply chains, maintaining economic growth momentum: promoting hard and soft infrastructure connections, facilitating trade and investment; building smart agricultural industries; digital economic development; business connection. The Mekong countries appreciate that China continues to increase imports of Mekong agricultural products in the current difficult context and China's proposal to establish a special fund MLC on public health to support MLC responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the general health sector later on.

Continue to promote sustainable development, contribute to the successful implementation of the SDGs 2030 goals: implementation of the Mekong - Lan Thuong Environmental Cooperation Strategy, the Mekong - Lan Thuong Green Initiative; implementing substantive activities on climate change, improving air quality, managing ecological environment and conserving biodiversity, managing urban environment. Cooperation in the agricultural sector is also seen as a focus, especially the operation of the cooperative center on agriculture and the maintenance of exports of Mekong agricultural products to the Chinese market.

Promote cooperation in the field of education and training and human resource transformation for the Mekong region: encourage cooperation between universities and research institutes to train high-quality human resources to meet requirements of the market in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution; exchanges between the youth classes of the Mekong countries. Support member countries to develop green, sustainable, and resilient tourism as this is a potential area that is expected to recover strongly after the epidemic ends.

Third, the Conference spent a lot of time discussing cooperation on water resources management in the Mekong River. The Leaders discussed the severe drought in the river basin in 2019-2020 and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the management and sustainable use of the Mekong water resources. Accordingly, the six countries will: Organize periodic MLC Ministerial Conference on Water Resources Cooperation; promote policy dialogue, sharing information, data and experiences in transboundary water management; building a channel to share MLC information on water resources; Conduct joint studies on water resources of the Mekong River, collaborative activities on climate change adaptation, hydropower dam safety, domestic water safety, and flood and drought management.

The leaders of the Mekong-Lan Thuong also highly appreciated to set up a hydrological data center and share data sources for the Mekong countries in the context of severe drought. The sharing of hydrological data throughout the year will actively support the coordination among riparians in the effective management of the Mekong River's water resources, serving the benefits of all riparian countries.

Could you please tell us what initiatives and proposals from Vietnam at this conference?

With the policy of always being a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community, Vietnam has actively participated in and effectively contributed to the Mekong-Lan Thuong cooperation from the very first days of its establishment.

For this conference, our ministries and branches have actively participated in the drafting process of documents in a constructive, cooperative spirit for the common benefit of the whole region. The draft document has reflected many comments from Vietnam and has also worked closely with other member countries to ensure careful and thoughtful preparation.

At the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and senior leaders of member countries discussed major issues affecting the sustainable development of the region and necessary solutions.

The Prime Minister also emphasized three specific cooperation issues that the six countries need to focus on in the coming time: coordination to minimize the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; regularly, promptly and transparently share information and experiences about COVID -19 epidemic, paying special attention to cooperation in vaccine production and bringing vaccines to people in the area. field; cooperation in the use and sustainable management of Mekong water resources to cope with the increasingly severe droughts and saltwater intrusion in the river basin, emphasizing the importance of sharing information and data The year-round hydrology of the entire Mekong basin from upstream in China to downstream in Vietnam, thereby limiting the negative effects of floods or drought in the first six months of 2020. .

The Conference highly appreciated the positive and effective contributions of Vietnam in the process of preparing and discussing at the Conference.

Sincerely thank you, Deputy Minister!