Korea and five countries along the Mekong River have reached an agreement to further expand economic and developmental cooperation.

Foreign ministers from Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar gathered in Seoul on July 29 to discuss a wide range of issues concerning the Mekong region at the two-day Fourth Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. In attendance were Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and his counterparts Pham Binh Minh from Vietnam, Hor Namhong from Cambodia, Sihasak Phuangketkeo from Thailand, Thongloun Sisoulith from Laos and Thant Kyaw from Myanmar.


The Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is a regional cooperative body launched in 2011 at the request of Seoul with the goal of narrowing the development gap and boosting balanced economic development across the region. The Mekong region constitutes five mainland Southeast Asian countries -- Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar -- through which or adjacent to which the Mekong River flows.

This Seoul meeting was the second meeting to be held in Korea, following the first one held in Seoul in October 2011.


The participating foreign ministers adopted a, "three-year action plan that presents concrete activities and programs calling for expanded cooperation across a wide range of areas," the Korean foreign ministry said. Under the action plan, Korea agreed to set up a comprehensive transport infrastructure development strategy for roads, railroads, airports and ports across the region, as well as supporting the establishment of an infrastructure oversight body.

On top of that, the countries vowed to share their knowledge about and technology associated with green growth, and to cooperate on restoring the forest ecosystem throughout the region. They also agreed to increase official development assistance (ODA) programs across the Mekong region.

According to the communiqué adopted following the meeting, Korea and the Mekong countries will work to realize three cooperative visions: to increase the level of connectivity between Mekong countries; to work for sustainable development; and, to implement “human-centered” development programs.

In addition, Korea and the region will continue to expand cooperation in a total of six areas: infrastructure, information and communications technology (ICT), green growth, the development of water resources and the development of human resources.

“We will share our own experiences and knowhow in terms of economic development with the Mekong region until the point when we see Korea-Mekong cooperation achieving concrete results,” said the Korean minister. “We will also continue to expand the Korean government's ongoing Saemaeul Undong agricultural developmental assistance program, a program that has earned the hearts of the community across the region ever since it began.”

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr

For the full text of the Korea-Mekong Plan of Action, please click on the PDF file below.