Regional Meeting: MOFA Union Minister attends 12th MGC FMM

At the official invitation of Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the current Co-Chair of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U ThanSwe attended the 12th Mekong- Ganga Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on 16 July in Bangkok, Thailand.

The meeting was co-chaired by the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Minister for External Affairs. The Foreign Ministers and representative from other Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Member States also participated in the meeting. The Ministers reviewed the progress of India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and discussed on the way forward.

They also exchanged views on cooperation and future direction of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation. At the meeting, implementation of the Lead Country Mechanism for the cooperation areas under MGC and the establishment of MGC Business Council were approved.

The Joint Ministerial Statement of the 12th MGC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was adopted by consensus as an outcome document of the Ministerial Meeting. Then, the Lao PDR handed over the Co-Chairmanship of MGC to Myanmar. Myanmar and India will serve as Co-Chairs of the MGC. Before the 12th MGC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the Indian Minister for External Affairs, the permanent Co-Chair of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, hosted a welcome lunch in honor of the Heads of Delegation of the MGC Member States.

The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is the regional cooperation mechanism established in the year 2000 to further enhance socio-economic development of the region. India and five Mekong countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam are Members of the MGC.