H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of  the Kingdom of Thailand, is scheduled to join the delegation lead by H.E. General Prayut
Chan-O-Cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, to attend the 2^nd Mekong – Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders’ Meeting on 10 January 2018 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Cambodia and China will co-chair the meeting, which will review progress and activities of the Member States since the 1^st MLC Leaders’ Meeting on 1 March 2016. The meeting will also envision the direction of the MLC’s future activities.

The meeting will endorse two outcome documents including the (1) 5-Year Plan of Action 2018 – 2022, which lays out plans for MLC activities in the next five years and was considered and agreed upon in principle during the 3^rd MLC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in December 2017, and the (2) Phnom Penh Declaration, which reflects the leaders’ determination to utilize the MLC to achieve its goals on social and economic development for the people in the Mekong sub-region, as well as lay out tangible work plans to be implemented in accordance with the 5-Year Plan of Action.

In this meeting, Thailand aims to (1) push forward the MLC to become a modern cooperation framework, (2) synergize the MLC with the Belt and Road Initiative for economic and development benefits in the sub-region, (3) promote the MLC to become an economic hub and sustainable development model through innovation and modern industries consistent with Thailand 4.0 and Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development policies, and (4) promote cooperation through the MLC especially on water resource management to bring about sustainable agriculture in the Mekong countries.

The MLC consists of six Member States including China, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It aims to promote sustainable development and elevate people’s quality of life in the Mekong sub-region on the basis of equality, participation, voluntarism, and consensus.