Mekong-Lancang Cooperation: Commemorating the 8th Anniversary of MLC

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the commemorative ceremony of the 8th Anniversary of Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) at KMA Nay Pyi Taw Hotel on Thursday with the attendance of General Mya Tun Oo, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for   Transport and Communications.

At the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe delivered a commemorative speech, cherishing how the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation was launched and expressed his profound gratitude to all the Member Countries, in particular to the People's Republic of China. He also expressed his appreciation to the relevant Ministries of Myanmar which have contributed to the successful outcomes of MLC Cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister also highlighted that Mekong River is a transboundary river that provides benefits to six MLC Countries equally and harmoniously as a major source of food and income for the people residing along the Mekong River. He added that while sharing the benefits, MLC counties are also responsible to protect and promote the future of Mekong River. He underscored that, nowadays, MLC can be considered as the most successful one among many cooperation mechanisms in the Mekong region.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that MLC was born on 23 March 2016 and he praised the wisdom of the MLC Leaders’ decision to establish MLC aiming the peace and prosperity of the people from the Mekong Region. He expressed his thanks to China for setting up and contribution of USD 300 million to MLC Special Fund.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the significant contribution of Myanmar during MLC Co-Chairmanship, together with China, from August 2020 to December 2023 which includes jointly holding of three Ministerial Meetings and the successful adoption of three important documents i.e. “Nay Pyi Taw Declaration”, “Five-Year Plan of Action on MLC (2023 to 2027)” and “Joint Initiatives on MLC Innovation Corridor Development” at the 4th MLC Leaders’ Meeting. He also emphasized the importance of MLC Special Fund provided by China which resulted in the socio-economic development of Myanmar by supporting USD 31.6 million from the year 2017 to 2023 for the implementation of 106 Special Fund Projects.

The Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed Myanmar's strong commitment to work closely with all MLC Members to further strengthen the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation mechanism in the coming years.

In addition, he congratulated Ambassador Mr. Chen Hai of the People’s Republic of China to Myanmar for contributing an article on MLC which was published recently in Myanmar Daily Newspapers. Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Myanmar Mr. Chen Hai also delivered a speech, highlighting that LMC was first proposed at the ASEAN-China Summit in Nay Pyi Taw ten years ago, and it was officially launched in March 2016.

The Ambassador added that over the past eight years, the LMC Countries have made improvements in railways, roads, airports, ports, pipelines and power grids of the region. He further pointed out that the closer connectivity has speeded up regional economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The Ambassador emphasized that LMC Special Fund has supported over 700 livelihood projects in the LMC region. He stressed that during last year, the economy of China has contributed one-third of global growth at a rate of 5.2 percent. He also underscored that China’s modernization will bring new opportunities for Myanmar and other Mekong Countries and it will also add greater impetus to the cooperation. During the dinner, the cultural troupe from the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Religious Affair and Culture entertained the attendee with the cultural performances.

Deputy Prime Minister U Than Swe and the Ambassador together with Ambassadors and representatives from MLC Embassies presented gifts to the cultural troupe. Mekong-Lancang Cooperation was established for the peace, prosperity and sustainable development of peoples from the Mekong-Lancang sub-region which includes Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam. While tangible developments can be seen during the past eight years, Myanmar has also been reaping fruitful benefits from Mekong-Lancang Cooperation.