On 5-6 June 2024, Ms. Rujikorn Saengchantr, Acting Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs and Thailand’s SOM Leader for Mekong Cooperation, led the Thai delegation to attend the Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM) of Mekong sub-regional frameworks, which are (1) the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP); (2) the Friends of the Mekong (FOM); and the Mekong-Republic of Korea Cooperation (Mekong-ROK) in Vang Vieng and Vientiane, Lao PDR.

The MUSP SOM was co-chaired by Ms. Melissa Brown, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State and Mr. Somboun Sihanath, Director-General of Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR. The SOM of MUSP member countries exchanged views on the progress of MUSP cooperation between Mekong countries and the U.S., and were pleased with the success of the 2024 MUSP Policy Dialogue held in March this year, as well as the implementation of MUSP projects and activities in advancing result-oriented cooperation under four main pillars of MUSP. The Meeting also discussed on the potential convening of the MUSP Foreign Ministerial Meeting and the official approval of the new MUSP Plan of Action for the year 2024-2026 in July. The Thai SOM Leader highlighted the continued support to the MUSP projects and emphasised Thailand’s role in promoting development cooperation in the sub-region, particularly through the Thailand’s International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Moreover, the Thai SOM also pointed out the necessity to enhance capacity building of Mekong countries in addressing challenges emerged from external factors, especially in various areas including climate change adaptation, food and energy security, transnational crimes such as call centre and online scams, and the promotion of resilient and sustainable connectivity, as well as strengthen the coordination between MUSP, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and ASEAN.

As for the FOM SOM which was chaired by the U.S., the Meeting exchanged views on the priority issues of sub-regional collaboration in economic recovery, resilience and sustainable development, emphasized the constructive role of the FOM members in implementing various projects promoting energy security and natural resource and environment management. As most of the FOM members are also Development Partners (DPs) of ACMECS, the Thai SOM Leader encouraged them to utilise the ACMECS framework as well as the U.S. initiative’s Mapping Exercise to enhance efficiency and avoid duplication of their cooperation projects and activities in the Mekong sub-region. In addition, she called for the FOM to be a comprehensive, open and inclusive platform for development cooperation in the sub-region.

Meanwhile, the Mekong-ROK SOM, co-chaired by Mr. Kim Dong-bae, Director-General of ASEAN and South East Asian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK and the SOM Leader of the Lao PDR, welcomed the progress of the Mekong-ROK cooperation and commended the ROK’s role, commitment and engagement to the development of the Mekong sub-region in accordance with the current Mekong-ROK Plan of Action for 2021-2025 and the Korean-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI). Particularly, these endeavours are reflected through the ROK’s annual contribution to the Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund (MKCF), supporting various development projects in various sectors, as well as the commitment to increase funding to MKCF to 10 million USD by 2027. The Meeting also exchanged views on the future direction of the Mekong-ROK with a view to enhancing capacity building in response to external challenges. In this regard, the Thai SOM Leader proposed the Mekong-ROK in the following areas: (1) addressing non-traditional security issues, such as call centre and cyber-related crimes and drugs suppression; (2) tackling challenges emerging from impacts of climate change and environmental problems, especially by utilising technology and innovation on water resource management and agriculture; (3) promoting economic cooperation, particularly the MSMEs and Start-ups, where the Thai side was pleased with the upcoming Mekong-ROK Business Forum to be held by the ROK and the Lao PDR in August 2024; and (4) enhancing synergy between the Mekong-ROK, ACMECS and ASEAN – in which the relations of the ROK will be elevated into the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) later this year. The Meeting also discussed on the potential Mekong-ROK Ministerial Meeting in July 2024.