The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) are set to hold a two-day water security dialogue from Thursday.
In a joint statement released Wednesday, the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta and the MRC Secretariat in Vientiane said the dialogue — the first of its kind — aimed to “garner innovative solutions to address emerging challenges on water security across the region.”
The statement said talks would include possible collaboration to address water scarcity, water pollution, and water-related disaster risks such as flood and drought.
A sideline event with young people aims to “stimulate dialogue on youth-led, idea-driven advocacy for water security in the Mekong region,” it said.
Hosted by the MRC Secretariat, the online event is expected to bring together more than a hundred participants from ASEAN countries and other stakeholders.
“The dialogue is built on the cooperation framework between ASEAN and the MRC, which aims at enhancing expertise sharing and ensuring coordination and complementarity for better utilisation of water and water-related resources,” the statement said.
The dialogue is expected to become a biennial event, with the second scheduled for 2023.
Set up in 1995, the MRC comprises governments of four of the ten ASEAN countries — Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. A fifth, Myanmar, is a “dialogue partner” of the inter-governmental agency, along with China.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Press