(VOVworld) – The Mekong-Lancang Cooperation leaders’ meeting opened in China’s Hainan province on Wednesday.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said Vietnam appreciates China’s hosting of the meeting in a time when the Mekong region is facing many security and development challenges such as environmental degradation, water insecurity, and climate change. He said Vietnam values cooperation with countries in the sub-Mekong region and cooperation in the Mekong-Lancang region to enhance the competitiveness of member countries and promote regional production chains. Vietnam supports water resource cooperation as one of the 5 priority areas in Mekong-Lancang cooperation. Vietnam is willing to cooperate with China to develop a joint project on establishing a Mekong-Lancang water resource cooperation center to increase information sharing and improve the management of Mekong river’s water resources. Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Mekong-Lancang member countries through increasing the application of new technologies and productivity and establishing agricultural value chains in the sub-Mekong region towards sustainable agriculture, which is competitive and adaptive to climate change and ensures food and water security. Vietnam will strengthen cooperation with Mekong-Lancang member countries in facilitating cross-border trade, investment, and tourism by harmonizing and simplifying procedures.

Deputy Prime Minister Minh said Mekong-Lancang cooperation is an open cooperative mechanism, which will not only supplement existing cooperation frameworks in the sub-Mekong region but also create added values for regional cooperation. He said Mekong-Lancang cooperation should increase coordination with other cooperative mechanisms, particularly the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and the Mekong River Commission in order to create a ripple effect.