H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, will co-chair the Ninth Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting alongside H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. The Meeting will be held on 16 August, 2024, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and also attended by Foreign Ministers of other MLC member countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

The key topics to be addressed at this Meeting will include reviewing and planning for future cooperation within the MLC framework, including ways of collaboration in resolving air pollution (PM 2.5) and combating transboundary crimes, in particular illicit drug trafficking, and cybercrimes and telecommunication frauds, as proposed by Thailand. On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand, will deliver a keynote speech titled “Towards a Safer and Cleaner Mekong-Lancang Community” to reaffirm Thailand’s commitment and push forward tangible cooperation to tackle these issues effectively within the MLC framework. The Meeting will also discuss other areas of cooperation in alignment with Thailand’s interests and aiming to address development challenges currently faced by the Mekong sub-region, including economic recovery and water resource management. Four outcome documents will be adopted, namely, (1) the draft Joint Press Communique of the 9^th Mekong-Lancang Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, (2) the draft Initiative on Deepening Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation, (3) the draft Joint Statement on the Mekong-Lancang Clean Air Initiative and (4) the draft Joint Statement on Strengthening Cooperation in Combating Transboundary Crimes under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Framework.

Initiated by Thailand in 2012 with the support of China, the MLC framework was officially established in 2016 with an aim to promote connectivity and sustainable development in the Mekong sub-region, as well as narrow development gap among countries. It is the first water resources cooperation framework with participation of all countries in the Mekong sub-region. The MLC Framework has evolved around 3 pillars; (1) Political and Security, (2) Economic and Sustainable Development, and (3) Social, Cultural, and People-to-People Exchange, focusing on 5 priority areas; (1) Connectivity, (2) Production Capacity, (3) Cross-Border Economic Cooperation, (4) Water Resource Management, and (5) Agriculture and Poverty Reduction. The MLC framework has been advancing cooperation through the implementation of more than 800 projects supported by China through the Mekong-Lancang Special Fund (MLCSF), with 93 of these projects initiated and implemented by Thailand. Currently, Thailand is serving as co-chair of the MLC framework with China for the term 2024-2025.