During 16 - 17 December 2018, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, led a Thai delegation to attend the 4^th Mekong - Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR.

 

The meeting held on 17 December 2018 was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, and H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and attended also by H.E. Mr. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Mr. Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, H.E. U Kyaw Tin, Union  Minister  for  International  Cooperation  of  the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

 

The meeting reviewed the progress and future direction of MLC cooperation, and adopted the Joint Press Communiqué of the 4th MLC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting which reflects the Minister’s acknowledgement of the theme "Enhancing Partnership for Shared Prosperity" for the 3^rd MLC Leaders' Meeting, the MLC Song "Lancang and Mekong, A River of Friendship" and the Progress Report of the Year 2018 on Implementing the Five-Year Plan of Action on Mekong ­ Lancang Cooperation (2018-2022).

 

As for future direction, the meeting took note of the six points identified by China namely (1) the proposal to jointly build an MLC Economic Development Belt through multidimensional connectivity in a gradual manner (2) promoting production capacity (3) enhancing innovation cooperation (4) human resource development (5) deepening environmental cooperation (6) upholding openness and inclusiveness of the MLC. On this last point, the Ministers agreed to promote greater cooperation in other areas such as education, customs, health and youth, explore ways to promote cooperation at local level, and acknowledged the participation of Chinese cities and provinces such as Shenzhen, Yunnan Province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the implementation of various projects under the MLC.  

 

The Ministers also agreed to continue to promote the synergy between the MLC and national development strategies of member countries, the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the ACMECS Master Plan 2019-2023, and the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve coordinated development of the MLC with relevant regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms such as ASEAN, ACMECS, GMS and MRC. 

 

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China on 16 December 2018. Both sides discussed bilateral and regional economic cooperation, and connectivity.