Lancang-Mekong FM meeting maps out direction of further cooperation

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) foreign ministers' meeting has mapped out the direction of further cooperation and made clear the goal of following efforts, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here on Friday.

Number One is to set up joint working groups on key priority areas within three to six months and put them into real practice, Wang told a joint press conference with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn after the meeting had concluded.

Number Two is to encourage member states to set up LMC secretariats or coordination bodies respectively within next year, Wang said.

Number Three, all 45 early harvest projects will be implemented next year, the minister said.

Number Four, foreign ministers of the LMC member states have agreed to work out a list of new cooperation projects and a LMC five-year action plan which will be submitted to the second Leaders' Meeting for approval, he said.

Number Five, the application for the LMC fund and its usage will be formally launched, he added.

Since the first Leaders' Meeting, LMC has made remarkable progress and demonstrated satisfactory speed and efficiency, Wang told reporters.

The reason why LMC could make so much headway within such a short period of time is that it answered the urgent desire of the six countries to enhance reciprocal cooperation and followed the tide of regional economic integration process, Wang said.

China is ready to make joint efforts with the other five countries to cultivate a Lancang-Mekong culture featuring equality, mutual assistance and amicability and create a LMC corridor based on the principles of mutual consultation, common contribution and shared benefits, he added.

The second LMC foreign ministers' meeting was held in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Friday, gathering top diplomats from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

At the joint press conference, Prak Sokhonn, who co-chaired the ministerial meeting, said the establishment and development of LMC is in line with the needs of countries in the region.

LMC member states are grateful for China's attention and devotion to LMC, hoping that China would continue to play a leading role in future cooperation process, he said.

Foreign ministers attending the meeting also lauded the achievements that LMC had made over the past year.

They hoped that LMC could be aligned with the "Belt and Road" Initiative proposed by China, be more complementary with other sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, and be able to make unique contributions to the benefits of peoples of the region.

The six countries along the Mekong (known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch) launched the LMC mechanism in 2015 and convened the first Leaders' Meeting in March 2016.