The section of Mekong River runs through Vietnam. (Source: Internet)A forum on ‘Mekong outlook: changes and expectations’ was organised in Hanoi on October 29 by the Centre for Humans and Nature.
The forum was held to share analyses and explanations relating to the development of the Mekong River and future scenarios.
Dao Trong Tu, Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Water Resources and Climate Change Response under the Vietnam Irrigation Association, said the increase of cooperation mechanisms to implement the 1995 Mekong Agreement is extremely important to help protect the interests of Vietnam which lies at the end of the course of the river.
Besides that, integrating Mekong cooperation into regional cooperation such as ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region, forums and bilateral cooperation programmes should be implemented consistently and continuously.
Agreeing with Tu’s opinions, Nguyen Hong Toan, a national adviser in building the development strategy for the lower reaches, said countries along the Mekong River should share interests and costs to boost cooperation.
Integrating Mekong cooperation into the management and development of water resources and other cooperation initiatives is necessary.
Attendees at the forum also discussed and shared their viewpoints on a number of issues such as Mekong hydroelectricity dams, the overall development strategy for the lower reaches of the Mekong River, new thoughts on the future of Mekong hydroelectricity, new developments on the Mekong River and their impacts on the lower reaches and the United Nations Convention on water resources and potential solutions to cooperation on and development of international rivers.
The Mekong River runs through China’s Yunan province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It’s the world’s 12th longest river and the seventh longest in Asia.-VNA
