Mekong-Lancang Cooperation to inject new impetus into ASEAN-China ties: Cambodian experts

Hanoi (VNA) - The Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) will continue to inject impetus into the ASEAN-China cooperation and the ASEAN community building towards a more open, inclusive and prosperous region, Cambodian experts said in recent interviews with China’s Xinhua News Agency.

Launched on March 23, 2016 during the first MLC Leaders' Meeting in Sanya, a resort city in south China's Hainan province, the MLC consists of six countries, namely China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Pou Sothirak, Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said cooperation among the MLC countries has blossomed in areas of connectivity, industrial capacity, cross-border economy, water resources, agriculture and poverty reduction.

He added that it is expected that the MLC will continue to support the ASEAN Community building and regional integration process, and promote the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"If all projects are faithfully and properly implemented, the MLC will be able to reinforce the spirit of cooperation among the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong and serve as a concrete road map toward the prospect of a more open, inclusive and prosperous region, allowing all the people in the Greater Mekong Subregion to reap greater benefits with their livelihood improved, narrowing the development gap, and making ASEAN Community building a step closer to reality," Sothirak said.

So Sophort, Secretary General of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said the sustainable economic growth in the riparian countries and the environmental sustainability of the Mekong River are the demand and core business for all the Mekong countries.

"The MLC should consider continuing to increase the investments and assistance for the sustainable development in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin," he told Xinhua. "In this context, the MLC should further strengthen its relationships economically, technically and politically, and regional connectivity among the MLC member states for the shared prosperity and sustainable future in the Lancang-Mekong region."

In addition, he said, there should be a need for all Mekong initiatives to work together within the cooperative framework for the sustainable outcomes, meeting the needs and keeping the balance in the Mekong-Lancang River Basin./.