The Mekong River cooperation has seen many favourable factors in the
2011-2012 period, according to a conference held by the Vietnam
National Mekong Committee (VNMC) in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27.
According to the VNMC, 2011-2012 is the first period to realise the
Joint Declaration of the first Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit
held in Hua Hin on April 5, 2010. This was also the beginning of the
2011-2015 Strategic Plan.
With the leading role of
the MRC, Vietnam has had opportunities to put forth initiatives and
increase its contributions on the hot issues of Mekong cooperation.
In this period, foreign relations in the river basin have been
continuously consolidated and expanded, especially in the regional
cooperation frameworks of ASEAN, Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS),
Mekong-Japan and Mekong-US.
In addition, the world
aid community and organisations such as the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank have supported development assistance, resource
management and climate change adaptation activities through Mekong
cooperation.
However, this cooperation has also
faced many great challenges, especially the rapidly increasing use of
water resources in the basin and the construction of hydropower plants
on the river.
In 2013, the VNMC will strive to
fulfil its role as Chairman of the MRC Joint Committee for the 2011-2012
tenure and attend a Mekong forum in May 2012 and the 19 th session of
the MRC Council to be held in Laos later this year.
The committee will also strengthen cooperation with upstream
countries in implementing the MRC study on the impacts of hydropower
plants on the main stream of the Mekong River.-VNA