Vietnam and Ganga-Mekong Cooperation Ministerial Conference
Nov. 10 (VNA) -- A Vietnamese delegation led by Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien joined five other delegations from Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in the first Ganga-Mekong Cooperation Ministerial Conference held in Vientiane, Laos, this morning, Nov. 10.
The conference discussed measures and projects to exploit the potential for development in the Ganga-Mekong region in general and tourism cooperation in particular, with the aim of boosting socio-economic development in each country and cooperation among regional countries, contributing to sustainable development in the region and narrowing the gap among the countries.
Speaking at the conference, FM Nien stressed that countries in the Ganga-Mekong region need to cooperate to exploit the region's potential of geology, diversified ecology, cultural traditions and identities. He said: "It is necessary to exploit the potential of the Ganga-Mekong region where projects of the Mekong river basin development programme have been carried out by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners in the spirit of the Ha Noi Plan of Action."
It was advisable that countries in the Ganga-Mekong region should welcome the participation of other ASEAN members, regional countries and international donors in order to increase its limited financial source, FM Nien added. He elaborated that the Ganga-Mekong region should concentrate on tourism cooperation as it was of high feasibility, and that the region needed a cooperation mechanism suitable for each field in order to establish a comprehensive cooperation mechanism for the Ganga-Mekong region.
The conference passed the Vientiane Declaration and a report of views on the Ganga-Mekong cooperation, which showed the six countries' unanimity in cooperation for development in the region such as cooperation in exploiting tourism potential, preservation and development of traditional cultural values, and human resource development, infrastructure development and information technology network.
