The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation this evening made public a press release on the outcomes of the 12th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand on July 16.

The full press release reads as follows:

“H.E. Bundit Sopheacha Dr. SOK Siphana, Senior Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia, representing H.E. PRAK Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has led a Cambodian Delegation to attend the 12th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 16 July 2023 in Bangkok. The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India.

The Ministers of the Mekong countries appreciated the contribution of the MGC in advancing the socio-economic development of their countries. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam welcomed India’s assistance through its Quick Impact Projects (QIP) Scheme and noted that since the scheme’s inception in 2015, 78 projects have been completed.

The Ministers agreed to streamline the functioning of the MGC through an improvement of a lead country mechanism for each area of cooperation as well as the setting up of a MGC Business Council, which will guide their future interactions in stimulating more trade and investment cooperation as well as expanding regional economic activities. They emphasised their commitment to strengthening cooperation on sustainable water resources utilisation and management and welcomed its engagement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in order to enhance cooperation on water-related issues.

Dr. Sok Siphana emphasised the importance of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, which is a major infrastructure project to promote economic and cultural relations between India and the Mekong countries, and appreciated India’s commitment to expand it eastward with its extension to Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. The construction of this highway is also aligned with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 and India’s Act East Policy, both of which are aimed at improving connectivity in the region. He also pointed out the future direction of the MGC should be focused in the area of digital transformation, green revolution, and economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the ‘Joint Ministerial Statement of the 12th MGC Foreign Ministers Meeting’ with two annexes: the concept notes on the Lead Country Mechanism and the MGC Business Council.”

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse