21 March 2014
Five lower Mekong
countries and US are taking steps to boost cooperation in key areas to drive
development in the region with the US pledging further support to help address
challenges faced by the region. Around 100 delegates from Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and US met yesterday in Vientiane to discuss
cooperation under the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) introduced by US foreign
ministers and the five countries when they met in 2009 in Thailand.
The multinational
forum aims to address trans-boundary policy and development challenges in the
key areas of agriculture and food security, connectivity, education, energy
security, environment, water and health.
Climate Change,
Health and Energy Security
Cooperation and
collaboration on issues such as climate change, public health and energy
security is essential. US was committed to utilizing its expertise and
experience to support the LMI countries as they face these challenges.
US and Laos
collaborate on a variety of programs through the LMI including English language
for specialized purposes, classes to improve English for Lao officials and a
modern infrastructure for the Mekong program which helps ensure the sustainable
development of hydropower.
Water Management
In the field of Water
Management, US will assist in developing environmental programs in the Mekong
region to help address future challenges. The programs include the development
of ‘Forecast Mekong,' a predictive modeling tool to illustrate the impact of
climate change and other challenges to the sustainable development of the
Mekong River Basin.
Education
US education
assistance includes support for more than 500 students and scholarly exchanges
with Mekong countries each year through the Fulbright Program and other
educational programs. US assistance to the Mekong countries in the health field
has contributed to a 50% reduction in the HIV/AIDS infection rate in Cambodia,
and has provided treatment and prevention services to over 2 million people
across the region.
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