H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, joined the 7th Mekong – ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 1 September 2017 in Busan. The Meeting was co-chaired by Ms. Kang Kyung-Wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR. Foreign Ministers from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Viet Nam, also led their delegations to the Ministerial Meeting.

Ministers endorsed The Mekong – ROK Plan of Action 2017 – 2020, the second of its kind, which laid out a three-point partnership visions, namely, ASEAN connectivity, sustainable development and human-centered development, and enumerated key cooperation projects. The meeting also adopted the Co-Chairs’ Statement of the 7th Mekong – ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, endorsing Member Countries’ six projects, to be funded by Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund (MRCF), including the ‘Promoting Safe Migration for Temporary Migrants to Thailand’, which was proposed by Thailand. 

Ministers also expressed concerns over the developments in the Korean Peninsula, reiterated the importance of creating conditions conducive for dialogue for peace and stability. The statement also included the countries' commitment to maintaining freedom of navigation in and over the South China Sea in accordance with international law.

In his statement, the Thai Deputy Foreign Minister commended the ROK’s increasingly proactive role in the region as well as Mekong Institute’s effective management of MRCF mechanism, and reiterated Thailand's engagement in the Mekong – ROK, with the emphasis on the progress made on the implementation of projects in the agriculture and rural development sector, in which Thailand is a coordinating country. In addition, the Deputy Foreign Minister also reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment to utilize its leading role in the future years, as host of ACMECS, ASEAN and APEC Summits in 2018, 2019 and 2022 respectively, to promote complementarity and alignment of all regional platforms of cooperation with a view to enhance regional connectivity and beyond.   

Founded in 2010, the Mekong – ROK cooperation aims to promote six areas of cooperation, namely, infrastructure, information and communications technology, green growth, water resource development, agriculture and rural development and human resource development. Member States consist of Thailand, Republic of Korea, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.