Minister of Foreign Affairs co-chaired the 10th Mekong–Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 16 Aug 2025

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 16 Aug 2025

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On 15 August 2025, H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, co-chaired the 10th Mekong–Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. The meeting was held in Anning City, Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China, under the main theme: “Golden Decade: Staying Committed to Building a Better Community Through Solidarity.”

The Foreign Ministers of the Mekong subregion countries and China jointly reviewed the progress of cooperation under the three pillars of the MLC framework: (1) Political and Security, (2) Economic and Sustainable Development, and (3) Social, Cultural, and People-to-People Exchanges. The meeting placed emphasis on issues such as infrastructure development and connectivity, water resources management, agriculture, economy and trade and investment, combating transnational crime, human resources development, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

Thailand promoted joint efforts to address urgent shared challenges of the subregion, namely combating transnational crime, managing water resources, and tackling transboundary pollution. These areas have seen progress and ongoing cooperation, for example: cracking down on online scams along border areas, exchanging information to address floods and droughts in the Mekong River, jointly addressing water quality issues, utilizing environmentally friendly technologies, and implementing projects to reduce PM 2.5 pollution.

Thailand proposed that MLC member countries work together to resolve the issue of river contamination by utilizing existing mechanisms, namely the LMC Water Resources Cooperation Center (LMC Water Center) and the Lancang–Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center (LMEC), in collaboration with a regional organizations, namely the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Thailand also proposed strengthening cooperation to respond to technological changes through the utilization of the MLC Innovation Corridor to drive inclusive, resilient, and sustainable subregional development. Furthermore, Thailand encouraged greater linkages between MLC cooperation and the Ayeyawady–Chao Phraya–Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), the Mekong River Commission (MRC), and ASEAN.

Thailand is serving as MLC Co-Chair with China for the 2024–2025 term. On this occasion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed Thailand’s readiness to host the 5th MLC Leaders’ Meeting later this year in Bangkok.

The MLC framework originated from a Thai initiative in 2012, with China as a co-driver, and was officially established in 2016. It comprises six member countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and China. Its objective is to promote connectivity and sustainable development within the Mekong subregion.

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