January 10, 2018 Vice President U Myint Swe attended the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (LMC) leaders’ meeting that began in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh yesterday with the theme of “Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development.” The meeting was chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The meeting also brought together Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vice President U Myint Swe. In his address at the meeting, Vice President U Myint Swe pledged that Myanmar would continue efforts for strengthening relations and mutual trust with members of Mekong countries to tackle economic, social and environmental challenges and non-traditional challenges being faced by Myanmar. He also stressed the need to strengthen connectivity among the Mekong countries in order for the Mekong region to become a growth centre. He also acknowledged the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation as a collaborative organisation which further binds together the ASEAN community and makes the efforts of ASEAN more effective. “People to people contacts play an important role in establishing a community with coexistence. It needs to promote people to people contacts through cooperation in cultural education sectors and experts of the member countries,” said the Vice President. U Myint Swe also reiterated that the strategies of Mekong-Lancang, including the Belt and Road Initiative, should comply with the work procedures of organisations in the region such as ASEAN. He expressed thanks to the Chinese government for finalizing the first batch of 132 projects to be implemented by Mekong-Lancang’s special fund, saying that 10 projects in Myanmar include in the first batch. Besides, the second batch of 214 projects would be benefit the people of Mekong countries, he added. In conclusion, the Vice President pledged to actively participate in the Mekong-Lancang cooperation effort at present and in the future, maintaining friendship, good neighbourly relations, mutual trust and mutual benefits. After the meeting, Vice President U Myint Swe attended a ceremony to hand over the chairmanship from the Cambodian Prime Minister to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Prime Minister. Initiated by China in 2014, the LMC consists of six countries – China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam. It focuses on several priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.
Myanmar pledges cooperation with Mekong River countries: U Myint Swe
