Cambodia to host Mekong-Lancang foreign ministers' meeting this week

The second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) foreign ministers' meeting will be held on Dec. 22 and 23 in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, Cambodian foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will co-chair the meeting that will also gather foreign ministers from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, said the statement.

"The meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to review the progress made as well as to exchange views on the future directions of MLC framework since the successful convening of the first MLC Leaders' meeting in March 2016," it said.

According to the statement, the MLC foreign ministers will endorse the joint press communiqué of the 2nd MLC foreign ministers' meeting, the matrix of follow-ups to the outcomes of the 1st MLC Leaders' meeting, and the general principles for the establishment of the Joint Working Groups on the MLC key priority areas.

The six countries along the Mekong (known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch) launched the MLC mechanism in 2015 and convened the first Leaders' meeting in March 2016.

Five priority areas under the MLC include connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture and poverty reduction.

source: Xinhua