On 6 August 2017, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, joined the 10th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting at the Philippine International Convention Centre in Manila. The meeting was hosted by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Department of State of the United States of America. Foreign Ministers from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Viet Nam, and Secretary-General of ASEAN also led their delegations to the Ministerial Meeting.

 

The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting discussed and endorsed a new concept note proposed by the United States entitled: “Mekong Water Data Initiative”, which aims toward developing science-based decisions on the shared river system, while enhancing the Mekong River Commissions technical capabilities. The meeting also adopted the Joint Statement of the 10th Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting, reaffirming their commitment to the LMI as a primary driver of subregional economic integration and sustainable development and establishing opportunities for future cooperation.

 

The Thai Foreign Minister reiterated Thailand's engagement as a development partner in the LMI, and exchanged views on future areas of cooperation under the Initiative, emphasizing the progress made on implementing projects in the Education pillar, for which Thailand and the United States have been jointly implementing two projects: (1) the LMI University Network and (2) the Young Scientist Programme. Both projects aim to foster collaboration and encourage the exchange of knowledge among higher education institutes and peoples.

 

The LMI was created in 2009 as part of the United States’ rebalancing policy in the Asia – Pacific and desire to promote collaborative efforts towards peace, stability and prosperity in the region.