Japan and Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries have agreed to step up cooperation in improving urban environment in the Mekong region while continuing to pursue their economic growth targets.

At the third Green Mekong Forum held on December 25 in Bangkok, Thailand, the involved parties were also committed to enhancing capacity to cope with natural disasters in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The countries reiterated that the cooperation between public and private sectors, including the involvement of local authorities, plays a key role in addressing environmental issues in the region.

The results of the forum will be reported to a United Nations conference on mitigating the risks of natural disasters in Sendai, Japan, next March and the Japan-Mekong summit in July, 2015 in Tokyo.-VNA