Senior officials from four Mekong River Commission (MRC) member countries have discussed a wide range of issues relating to Mekong river at a two-day meeting in Luang Phrabang province, Laos.

Monemany Gnoibouakong, a representative from Laos and MRC chairwoman, stressed that cooperation is taking place not only among the four MRC member nations, namely Cambodia , Laos , Thailand and Vietnam , but has also been expanded to include the MRC dialogue partners of China and Myanmar .

Cooperation between these six countries has seen strong development in recent years, including the exchange of experts, the sharing of news on hydrology and involvement in the strategic environment assessment (SEA) for dams to be built in upper Mekong river.

The March 2-3 meeting drew representatives from MRC members and the dialogue partner for Myanmar along with General Director of the MRC Secretariat Jeremy Bird and observers.

They discussed the sustainable development of the Mekong river, including water resources and related natural resources as well as the enhancement of cooperation with dialogue partners.

In another vein, Japan pledged support for forest preservation, the management of water resources and the conservation of endangered dolphins in the river, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told Lao President Choummaly Sayasone in Tokyo on March 2./.