Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha attended the 1st Mekong - Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders’ Meeting in Sanya, Hainan, China, on 23 March 2016 as co-chair of H.E. Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The Meeting was also attended by H.E. Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Thongsing Thammavong, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, H.E. Dr. Sai Mauk Kham, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, H.E. Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Accompanying the Prime Minister from the Thai side were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Transport, and the Minister of Finance.

The Meeting reviewed the rapid progress made under MLC and laid visions for future cooperation namely 1. political and security issues 2. economic and sustainable development and 3. social, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges, while 5 priority areas identified were connectivity, industrial and production capacity cooperation, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, agriculture and poverty reduction.

Themed “Shared River, Shared Future”, the Meeting concurred to place special emphasis on water resource as all Member States are Mekong Riparian Countries, thus facing common challenges particularly the challenges arising from climate change such as severe drought and flood. In this regard, the Prime Minister, along with leaders of other Member Countries, expressed their appreciation to the Chinese Government for releasing water for the Mekong countries during the dry season, and further encouraged China to continue this practice on a yearly basis. Furthermore, issues of human resources development and education were also highlighted.

MLC aims to narrow development gaps, promote good neighbourliness, supports ASEAN Community building with a view to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Being inclusive in nature, MLC will add value to other existing frameworks, such as ASEAN - China Cooperation Framework, Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) and reflect positive South-South cooperation among developing countries. This is also in line with Thailand’s core policy for National reform as well as our theme for chairing the G77 this year.

The Meeting adopted 3 outcome documents, namely (1) Sanya Declaration which expresses political will in various areas of cooperation, (2) Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation and (3) Joint List of Early Harvest Projects which includes 45 projects proposed by all Member Countries. This also reflects the fact that MLC framework is outcome-oriented and not merely a consultation platform. Joint working groups to discuss project details and its implementation will also be established at the earliest.

Furthermore, all Member Countries expressed appreciation for the scholarships and funding mechanisms announced by China to support the implementation of MLC projects,

On the side-lines of the MLC Meeting, bilateral meetings between Thailand and China were held both at the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister levels to exchange views on MLC and bilateral issues of common concern.