Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Hanoi on January 10 morning for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to attend the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Summit. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc

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.

The biennial event is organised in rotation among the member countries. This year’s summit is co-organised by Cambodia and China. 

The first summit was convened on March 23, 2016, mapping out orientations for the cooperation mechanism, which is promoting comprehensive connection to build a responsible community and common benefit in the Mekong sub-region. 

It also aims to consolidate mutual trust and understanding, maintain peace and stability, boost sustainable development, reduce poverty, narrow the development gap, integrate comprehensively into regional and global economies, strengthen the friendship and neighbourliness among the countries. 

Vietnam has constructively participated in Mekong-Lancang cooperation by raising a range of initiatives which have been added in the joint list of the Mekong-Lancang early harvest projects, with the most noteworthy being a project on enhancing coordination in flood and drought management in the Mekong-Lancang valley and another on harmonizing standards and procedures between countries in the sub-region. 

At the second summit, the member countries are expected to approve the Phnom Penh Declaration and the five-year Action Plan for Mekong-Lancang cooperation in 2018-2022. 

With the theme “Peaceful river and our sustainable development”, the summit will review cooperation among the countries over the last two years, discuss future cooperation orientations, and hear reports from working groups.-VNA