Mekong River Commission Secretariat

International Conference on
the Mekong River Commission
Hanoi 23-24 April 2007

Joint Statement on the Mekong River Commission

 

On 23-24 April 2007 an International Conference on the Mekong River Commission (MRC) was held in Hanoi. The Conference was attended by the four Member States Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam, the MRC Secretariat, Dialogue Partners China and Myanmar, as well as donors and development partners.*

The Conference discussed ways to strengthen the Mekong River Commission to play a stronger role in the sustainable development of water and related resources in the Mekong Basin, in collaboration with national, regional and international partners in order to reduce poverty in the Mekong Region.

The Conference reaffirmed the role of the Mekong River Commission as an important joint mechanism for informed political dialogue between the Member States and their partners on the sustainable development and use of water and related resources in the Mekong Basin.

The participants of the conference concluded that the following efforts to strengthen the MRC are needed:

• Member States, in demonstrating their riparian ownership, reaffirm their commitment to the 1995 Agreement and undertake to ensure that MRC strategies and plans are adequately reflected in national development policies, strategies and plans in all relevant sectors – and vice versa. The National Mekong Committees are recognised as key channels to bring about this result.
• The riparian countries and their development partners will provide stronger support to the MRC and to the National Mekong Committees to ensure that the MRC has the necessary capacity to undertake its mission and act as the key provider of knowledge, information and tools for the identification, technical support to and promotion of policies and investments in the Basin for sustainable development which are transboundary in nature or have transboundary implications.
• In order to continue to improve the cooperation and coordination with the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) the participants would like to see the MRC more actively involved in GMS programmes in the Mekong Basin within its mandate.
• The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will further deepen their engagement and operational collaboration with the MRC in the identification and preparation of projects and implementation of activities in order to ensure optimal synergies and efficiency. Both banks will also contribute to the development of capacities of the National Mekong Committees and the MRC Secretariat for facilitation and promotion of sustainable development.
• In line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the donor community will take concrete steps to harmonise and coordinate their support to the MRC with a view to moving to programme funding and budget support, thereby ensuring a more efficient operation of the MRC on the basis of a results-based management and monitoring system. The development banks, as well as bilateral donors, will actively involve the MRC both during identification, formulation and implementation of their support to water-related development activities in the Mekong Basin that are transboundary in nature or have transboundary implications.

The MRC will, through its Secretariat, and in close coordination with the National Mekong Committees, engage with the different basin stakeholders, including civil society and research institutions, in assessing and promoting development interventions in the Mekong Basin.

The recent report from the Independent Organisational, Financial and Institutional Review of the MRC Secretariat and the National Mekong Committees was welcomed. MRC Member States and donors are committed to support the implementation of its key recommendations, as will be decided upon by the MRC Council, both through concrete actions and financial support.

The MRC Council, at its annual meetings, will further increase attention to addressing strategic and policy issues, development options and proposals in the Mekong Basin which are transboundary in nature or have transboundary implications, inviting and encouraging the participation of the upstream riparian countries.

The importance of the joint development of water and related resources in the Mekong Basin calls for the involvement of the highest political level of the MRC Member States, and therefore the holding of a MRC Summit at an appropriate time will be promoted.

The participants in the Conference concluded that the appropriate follow up actions to implement these commitments should be taken through the MRC Joint Committee and Council as well as the MRC Donor Consultative Group.

The participants thanked the Governments of Viet Nam and Denmark for their initiative and efforts in preparing for and hosting the conference.

Hanoi, 24 April 2007

__________________________________________

*Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, USA, ASEAN Secretariat, the Asian Development Bank, IUCN, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) the World Bank, and WWF.

Top