Second MRC summit to be held in HCM City in April

The second Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 5. HANOI, 28 March (VNA) - The information was released by Le Duc Trung, Chief of the Office of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee, at a press conference in Hanoi on March 27. The Vietnamese delegation, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, will join others from Laos , Cambodia , Thailand and dialogue partners China and Myanmar at the event. Representatives from development partners, donors and international organisations will also be in attendance. Themed “Cooperation for Water, Energy and Food Security in Transboundary Basins under a Changing Climate”, the summit aims to strengthen a commitment to cross-border cooperation in the sustainable development of water and other resources of the Mekong River . This need is rising along with the demand for water, energy and food resources. The summit will represent the will and political commitment of MRC member countries’ leaders to enhance regional affiliation in overcoming all challenges towards the sustainable development of the Mekong River basins. The meeting will also define priority areas for the MRC in the immediate future, especially in ensuring water, energy and food security and lessening the impacts of climate change. The leaders are expected to adopt a joint statement at the end of the event. According to Trung, on the threshold of the summit, an international seminar will be held from April 2-3 to discuss regional and global issues of common concern, such as water, energy and food security, risk management and climate change adaptation in transboudnary basins. The first MRC Summit was held in Hua Hin, Thailand in 2010 to mark the 15 th anniversary of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin (1995 Mekong Agreement).-VNA