At the discussion held as part of the MLC Media Summit in Vientiane, the participants highlighted tourism as a potential cooperation field for the MLC members, which are Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
 
Tourism itself has been a great advantage of each country, contributing to the economic restructuring and national gross domestic product (GDP), they said. 

However, in order to overcome current difficulties and challenges to achieve sustainable tourism development, it needs close cooperation among the countries along the Mekong-Lancang river, the participants said, noting that communication is a key element in such a partnership. 

Communication will help enhance mutual understanding among people in the region, and facilitate the popularization and sharing of experience in sustainable tourism development and community-based tourism, towards prosperity and sustainability in each nation.

At the discussion, delegates also reported on changes in the communication sector in their respective countries given the robust development of technology, especially virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

They agreed that new media, particularly social networks, have become so common in recent years that they create both opportunities and challenges for mainstream media in the region.

The delegates said mainstream media needs to change in both forms and contents of information dissemination in order to meet new demand in the new era of communication. At the same time, they must uphold fundamental principles of professional ethics.

Deputy General Director of Vietnam News Agency Le Quoc Minh stressed the role and social responsibility of each journalist in controlling the spread of fake news on new media.

Separate efforts are not enough to deal with this issue, he said, calling for close cooperation among regional media agencies.

The cross-border collaboration will create a good chance for medial agencies to share experience as well as contribute to the sustainable development in each nation, he added.

The MLC is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism that was jointly established in 2016 by six countries along the Mekong River, namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Communication is one of the most progressive fields within their cooperation framework. This is the second time the MLC Media Summit has been held.-VNA