International conference on the Mekong River Commission
The International Conference on the Mekong River Commission (MRC) was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam on April 23-24, 2007. The conference was hosted by the Vietnamese Government and jointly organised with the Government of Denmark. Its main aim was to further strengthen the MRC’s position in the Mekong region.
Conference themes included:
- The MRC’s comparative advantage
- Cooperation with upper riparian states China and Myanmar
- Working relationship between the MRC, ADB and the World Bank
- The MRC and donors
The opening address was delivered by H.E. Mr Nguyen Sinh Hung, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Viet Nam.
Opening speeches were delivered by H.E. Mr. Cao Duc Phat, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of VNMC, Chairman of the MRC Council for 2006-2007 and H.E. Mrs Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation, Government of Denmark.
Key speakers to the themes included:
- H.E. Mr Lim Kean Hor, Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology of Cambodia, H.E. Mr Khamlouat Sidlakone, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office of the Lao PDR; Mr Adisak Thongkaimook, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand;
- Mr Zhang Wanhai, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Representative of China to UNESCAP.
- Dr Olivier Cogels, CEO of the MRC Secretariat, Mrs Katherine Sierra, Vice President, Sustainable Development the World Bank; Mr Ulrooj Malik, Director Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Division the Asian Development Bank and from the headquarters of the ADB and the World Bank.
- H.E. Ms Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for Minister for International Development Cooperation, Government of Sweden; H.E, Mr Masayoshi, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
Participants included
- Members of National Mekong Committees and Line Agencies
- Members of Dialogue Partner countries China and Myanmar
- Senior representatives of MRC donor countries from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, USA.
- Representatives from partner organisations ASEAN, ADB, IUCN, UNESCAP, the World Bank and WWF.
Participants through the conference discussions formulated a statement as follows:
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