The Second Mekong Resources Forum to step up investment cooperation and sustainable development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) was held in northern Vinh Phuc province on May 10.

According to Vu Van Chung, a representative from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency, Vietnam always attaches much importance to sustainable development.

Vietnam ’s Government requires its enterprises investing in GMS countries to follow local legal regulations and ensure harmony between national economic targets, Chung added.

The enterprises are also asked to help improve local people’s living conditions, reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in GMS countries.

Vietnam may suffer from the impacts of projects on the headwaters of the Mekong River , in particular those relating to hydropower, irrigation, flood management, tourism and aquaculture, according to People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature).

During the forum, participants exchanged views on environmental and social impacts of investment activities that include Vietnam’s participation in hydropower development in the Mekong River basin and hydropower development in the Sesan, Srepok and Sekong basins, and resource exploitation in the Mekong River and its impacts.

Co-organised by PanNature, Vietnam’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation Development (VILACAED), Forest Trends and VAFIE’s Foreign Investment Review, the forum aims to intensify dialogue between organisations in GMS countries.

The first forum was held in December, 2011.-VNA