Laos urges infrastructure development in Mekong Basin countries
Laos has suggested that cooperation between the Mekong Basin countries and China focus on the development of infrastructure for improved connectivity and to bolster commercial production. The proposal was made by the Lao delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Saleumxay Kommasith at the 2nd Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from December 22-23. Cambodia’s Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi co-chaired the meeting. Participants reviewed the progress made and exchanged views on the future direction of the MLC framework since the successful convening of the 1st Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting last March. Foreign ministers from the countries along the Mekong-Lancang River said they valued the implementation of the Sanya Declaration made by their leaders, who established meetings of the working groups for five sectors – connectivity, production capacity building, water resources, border economy, and agriculture and poverty reduction.
