The organising board of the 2014 Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC 2014) scheduled for early next month in Soc Trang province has raised 385 billion VND (18.1 million USD) for the region’s social welfare fund.

The donation includes 50 billion VND (2.1 million USD) for a project to build a hospital in Duyen Hai district, Soc Trang province, the organising said on October 27.

The MDEC 2013 held in Vinh Long attracted a total capital of 4 trillion VND (188 million USD), while capital raised for social welfare activities in the region hit nearly 600 billion VND (28.2 million USD).

This year’ annual event, the eighth of its kind in the region, will take place from November 5 -11with focus on restructuring the agricultural sector and building new rural areas in the region.

It aims to draw and propose measures, mechanisms and policies to boost trade promotion as well as introduce the region’s potential to domestic and foreign investors, especially those operating in agriculture and rural development related-sectors.

The forum will also analyse and discuss orientations and plans to foster economic links between the regional localities and others across the country.

A series of workshops and conferences on how to promote the restructuring of the agricultural sector and the construction of new-style areas in response to climate change, and what are roles of banks in these works, will be organised during the event, according to the organising board.

The Mekong Delta comprises of 12 provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and a population of 18 million. It is the country’s rice producer.-VNA