Agriculture is the strength of the Mekong Delta. However, the large gap in living standards and employment opportunities between the agricultural and industrial sectors continues to create waves of migration from the region to the southeast region.

Tran Dinh Thien, a respected economist, believes that if Vietnam can exploit its potential, it will be a big player in the world’s energy map in the future.

Local authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have declared an emergency as erosion along rivers and coasts in many localities has increased.

The Government has approved an VND8 trillion-plus budget for the first phase of the Dai Ngai Bridge linking the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.

A national cadres conference was organized recently to discuss policies on socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta by 2030, with a vision towards 2045.

Six international financial institutions have committed to financing US$2.2 billion in ODA and preferential loans for 20 sustainable development projects in the Mekong Delta in adaption to climate change during 2021-2025.

The Mekong Delta region is expected to develop agricultural centres in association with specialised farming zones and urban areas.

The Mekong Delta will need to optimise its natural conditions to develop renewable energy and attract investment in the sector to mitigate the impacts of climate change, experts have said.

Rice farmers in many Mekong Delta provinces are reducing rice cultivation over rising prices of inputs like fertilisersnbsp;and pesticides.

Ecotourism, especially agri-tourism will be a dominant trend as the Mekong Delta strives to develop its tourism industry, experts say.

The Mekong Delta's famed floating markets, where speciality products are sold on boats, provide a unique environment thatnbsp;is popular amongnbsp;both local and foreign visitors.

Ho fish (Catlocarpio siamensis), called the ‘Mekong river monster’, are being raised by farmers in cages on rivers in Vietnam.

Since early 2022, provinces within the tourism development cooperation cluster in the Eastern Mekong Delta have been welcoming increasing numbers of visitors as the nation shifts to safely adapts to the COVID-19 epidemic.

A vast major economic zone covering 40,400 sq.km., the Mekong Delta boasts abundant advantages in agricultural production and investment attraction across a variety of fields.

A farm in the Mekong Delta that raises a high number of poisonous snakes, from Ophiophagus Hannah to Plagiopholis and Bungarus fasciatus, sells snake venom to make serum which can save people.

The Mekong Delta is stagnating on the back of poor frameworks and infrastructural gaps – flaws that are hoped to be remedied with a new 2021-2030 masterplan, driving regional socioeconomic growth.

A man in Mekong Delta owns thousands of fish that can be bottle-fed and eat feed ashore.

Photographer Gian Thanh Son took a special trip to the Mekong Delta in mid-February after the lunar New Year 2022. 

A programme to entertain tourists with several genres of traditional music like tai tu, vong co and cai luong has been launched in Can Tho City.

Most rice production and processing plants are located on riversides, and as a result, about 95 percent of rice produced in the Delta is carried by water.