Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Khamphao Eunthavanh expressed the government’s view in her address at the 2nd Global Centre for Mekong Studies (GCMS) Think Tank Forum held on Friday in Vientiane.

Following the establishment of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) in 2016, the GCMS was established in 2017 with each MLC member country setting up their national GCMS the following year.

“This has become a new cooperation mechanism and it’s a key channel for expanding MLC through regular dialogues, the exchange of ideas and joint research in order to provide recommendations to the governments of MLC, which will contribute to the success of the MLC framework,” Mrs Khamphao said.

She noted the priority areas of cooperation which were consistent with the development needs of MLC member countries.  She also praised their collaborative efforts in implementing projects to maximise benefits to their nations and the region as a whole.

The deputy minister conveyed the country’s strong support for the implementation of the five-year MLC action plan 2018-2022 as it focuses on the implementation of industrial production capacity cooperation.  This is essential for nations such as Laos to promote joint sustainable development.

The country will also continue to enhance connectivity cooperation among MLC countries, according to the deputy minister, in order to align with the existing mechanisms for regional connectivity.

This year’s GCMS Think Tank Forum was jointly organised by GCMS Laos and China centres under the theme: “Strengthening Cooperation and Partnership towards Jointly Building a Lancang-Mekong Community of Shared Future”.

Director of GCMS Laos Centre, Ambassador Khamsouy Keodaravong, and Director of GCMS China Centre, Dr Rong Ying, Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Laos, Mr Zhao Cheng Gang, and experts from MLC countries and organisations attended the forum.

Participants discussed the pathway towards an open and inclusive MLC, and the approaches to jointly building a Lancang Mekong Cooperation economic development belt.