Thailand hosts regional meeting on Lower Mekong Initiative

BANGKOK, January 29 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting in Bangkok from January 29-30 to discuss regional cooperation in several areas in the lead-up to the formation of the ASEAN Community (AC) by the end of this year. Results of the two-day meeting will be used to review a draft of the Master Plan of Action for the implementation of the Lower Mekong Initiative 2015-2020. Discussions at the two-day forum include progress on regional cooperation in six key areas, covering health, connectivity, education, energy, environment and water, agriculture and food security. The first meeting of the Eminent and Expert Persons Group (EEPG) is also held to make a list of recommendations on regional challenges and approaches toward sustainability, in which two Thai representatives participate, including Dr. Suthad Setboonsarng, a former deputy secretary at the ASEAN Secretariat, and Associated Professor Ruth Banomyong, head of the Department of International Business, Logistics and Transport, under Thammasat University's Faculty of Commerce & Accountancy. About 150 representatives from the LMI member countries, including Cambodia, Lao PDr, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand, as well as the United States and Friends of the Lower Mekong, namely the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), the US-based World Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat, attend the ongoing regional gathering in the Thai capital. (TNA)