Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Bá Hùng. VNA/VNS Photo

VIENTIANE – Việt Nam has played an active part in the Mekong River Commission (MRC) since this mechanism’s inception, and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s attendance at the fourth MRC Summit in Vientiane on April 5 will continue showing the country’s respect for the commission, a diplomat has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the PM’s participation, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Bá Hùng further said the Vientiane summit would be a good occasion for the member countries and partners to discuss and work towards their cooperation targets in the use, development, and protection of water resources and related issues in a sustainable manner for the sake of the member countries and welfare for basin residents.

The MRC is a cooperation mechanism with the engagement of four members (Việt Nam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand) and two others located in the upper Mekong River as dialogue partners (China and Myanmar). It was established with a view to promote comprehensive cooperation to build a responsible community and ensure common interests in the sub-region.

The summit is also a chance to step up the realisation of the four member countries’ highest political commitments to effectively implement the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the MRC’s functions; analyse and assess challenges and opportunities related to water resources, including the sustainable development and environmental management in the basin; devise orientations for basin development and management; and reach consensus on the agreements and plans for implementing the Basin Development Strategy for 2021 - 2030, according to the ambassador.

PM Chinh’s attendance at the summit affirms Việt Nam’s role and sense of responsibility to help boost the effective implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement and promote the contents matching Việt Nam’s interests and important to the common and sustainable development in the basin.

Regarding Việt Nam’s contributions to the MRC, the ambassador noted the country has played an active part since the first stage of this mechanism’s formation, seriously carried out the Mekong Agreement, and actively helped resolve differences in the commission.

To help promote substantive cooperation in the Mekong River basin and the MRC, Việt Nam has made strong political commitments while actively and effectively engaging in the commission, he said, elaborating that it has joined other members in negotiating and building important documents of the MRC, especially the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the rules for water utilisation, reforming the commission and its Secretariat, and building and implementing its important strategies, projects, and studies.

It has shown active participation in building and implementing main cooperation programmes and projects of the MRC such as those on the environment, fisheries, and flood and drought management.

The country successfully hosted the second MRC Summit in HCM City in April 2014, helping devise directions for the commission’s cooperation activities. Besides, it has also helped enhance the MRC’s cooperation with dialogue and development partners, as well as partnerships with countries in other river basins, including the Ganges, the Danube, the Nile, the Amazon, and the Mississippi, according to the diplomat. VNS