Faced with the growing global climate challenge, the six countries along the Lancang-Mekong River are working together to address water resource challenges, promote regional economic development, and promote people's well-being.
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| The six countries participating in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation have agreed to finalize the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (Source: mountaingeographies.com) |
Professor Song Qingrun of the Asian Institute of Beijing Foreign Studies University said that water is the source of life, the Lancang-Mekong River is an important transnational river in the region, and the Lancang-Mekong cooperation was born because of water.
All six countries participating in the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation are increasingly aware of the scarcity and importance of water resources, and are increasingly aware of the importance of good cooperation on water resources for promoting the overall cooperation process among the Lancang-Mekong Basin countries.
In recent years, water resources cooperation within the framework of Lancang-Mekong has achieved remarkable results. The assessment of the “5-year Action Plan for Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (2018-2022)” shows that over the past 5 years, Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation has initially built a relatively complete cooperation mechanism, information sharing has been further expanded, the water resources management capacity of the 6 countries has been enhanced, practical cooperation, typically the Lancang-Mekong Freshwater Action, has brought benefits to local people, and people's participation and understanding have continued to be enhanced.
According to the 5-year Action Plan of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (2023-2027), the 6 countries participating in Lancang-Mekong Cooperation have agreed to complete the framework of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation, and continue to regularly organize the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Ministerial Meeting and the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Forum, actively promote exchanges and cooperation in basin-wide management such as sustainable development and use of water resources, hydrological information, disaster prevention and mitigation, capacity building and staff training, etc.
Professor Tong Thanh Nhuan believes that this not only points out the direction of water resources development and cooperation across the basin in the next few years, but also sets out some specific key contents, measures or cooperation projects, which will definitely promote the development and cooperation of water resources across the basin to a new level, so that water resources across the basin can bring happiness and benefits to the socio-economic development and improve the livelihoods of people in the basin countries in a better way, and will also provide some experience for similar regional water resources cooperation in other parts of the world.
At the 4th Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Leaders' Meeting held online on December 25, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for promoting green cooperation, fully respecting the legitimate rights and interests of all countries in developing and using water resources reasonably, and paying attention to each other's concerns.
He said that China is willing to discuss and seek cooperation with countries in managing the entire Lancang-Mekong river basin, while promoting cooperation in energy conversion and ecological protection...
Prof. Tong Thanh Nhuan affirmed that in the future, the six Lancang-Mekong countries can further enhance trust and dispel doubts, better care for and respond to each other's reasonable concerns about the sustainable use of water resources, enhance each other's policy coordination, enhance capacity building in the basin countries, and jointly implement well the contents of water resources cooperation in the "5-year Action Plan for Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation (2023-2027)", thus helping to ensure the equitable and sustainable use of Lancang-Mekong water resources.
China has begun sharing annual hydrological information of the Lancang River with Mekong countries since 2020, and jointly laid the information-sharing foundation for the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation.
Professor Tong Thanh Nhuan said that these measures have promoted water resources cooperation to a new level, which is beneficial for better responding to climate change, floods, droughts and the disasters it brings to the basin countries, and at the same time is beneficial for the Lancang-Mekong River basin countries to better utilize the water resources of this river, and also helps the countries in the upstream and downstream of this river to increase trust and resolve doubts.
Looking to the future, Prof. Tong Thanh Nhuan expressed optimism about the prospects of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation.
He said that as the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation moves from a phase of rapid expansion to a phase of comprehensive development, cooperation will not only address water resources issues, but also involve non-traditional security, green development, scientific and technological innovation and other areas. As comprehensive cooperation among the six countries continues to deepen, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation will increasingly become a “golden model” for sub-regional cooperation.
(according to the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation China Secretariat)
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