Regional Cooperation: 11th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

At the invitation of Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China and Co-Chair of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC), U Aung Kyaw Hoe, Union Minister for National Planning, Investment and Foreign Economic Relations attended the 11th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting which was held on 4 November in Beijing, China.

During the Meeting, the Ministers reviewed the progress achieved under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation, exchanged views on future direction of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation, and discussed preparation for the 5th MLC Leaders’ Meeting.

Moreover, the Meeting circulated the Progress report of the Year 2025 on the implementation of the Five-Year Plan of Action on Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (2023-2027) and the List of Projects supported by the MLC Special Fund for as its outcome documents.

Union Minister U Aung Kyaw Hoe emphasized the importance of Mekong-Lancang Cooperation in promoting regional development and highlighted the significant progress achieved over the past decade.

He also underscored the need to further strengthen cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation in key areas, including economic integration,law enforcement and regional security, food-water-and-energy security nexus, smart agriculture, water resource management, environmental protection and disaster management and people-to-people exchange as part of its future direction.

On the sidelines of the Meeting, the Union Minister held bilateral meeting with Mr. Wang Yi. During the meeting, they cordially exchanged views on matters pertaining to the further strengthening of the existing bonds of friendship between Myanmar and China, enhancing bilateral relations, expanding comprehensive cooperation across various sectors and deepening bilateral cooperation within the regional context.

The Mekong–Lancang Cooperation (MLC) is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism established in 2016 with the objective of promoting socio-economic development and improving the well-being of the people in the region. Under the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, Myanmar has received funding for a total of 140 projects, amounting to over USD 40 million.