H.E. General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand attended the1st Mekong-ROK Summit as a co-chair with the ROK during 26-27 November 2019 in Busan, the Republic of Korea. This inaugural Summit, since its inception in 2011, reflects the importance of the cooperation between Mekong countries and the ROK as it is elevated to the highest level.

 

In this regard, the Prime Minister presented 3 main proposals in accordance with the 3 Pillars of the ROK’s New Southern Policy and Mekong-ROK Vision; (1) On People Pillar, the Prime Minister proposed a target to double the number of student exchange in the next 5 years and pledged to support implementation of universal health coverage (UHC) and share experience with Mekong countries. (2) On Prosperity Pillar, the Prime Minister proposed that Mekong countries utilise the ROK’s best practice on innovation and digital technology for the development and value-creation of our SMEs and MSMEs. (3) On Peace Pillar, the Prime Minister proposed that the Mekong countries should make use of the ROK’s advanced Space and Geographic Information technologies for water resources management and long-term forecasting of flood and drought.

 

The Leaders have adopted the Mekong-Han River Declaration as the outcome document of the Summit to underscore their visions and commitment in forging the cooperation partnership for drive the Mekong-ROK cooperation forward in line with ACMECS. They have reprioritised the Mekong-ROK cooperation into 3 pillars and 7 new areas to address on-going challenges and endorsed establishment of the Mekong-ROK Biodiversity Center, Mekong-ROK Water Resources Joint Research Center, and Mekong-ROK Business Council for our future cooperation.

 

After the Summit, the leaders attended a Special Exhibition on Biodiversity Cooperation between Mekong countries and the ROK that showcased biodiversity of the Mekong countries. On the section about Thailand, the Exhibition showcased ‘Pim Saen Balm’ as an example of value-creation for Thai indigenous herbs through application of technology.