Thailand to accelerate collaboration with Lancang-Mekong countries

BANGKOK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thailand reaffirmed its commitment to accelerate collaboration in various areas under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) framework, covering infrastructure, economics and digital development, a Thai Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

Thailand has proposed three key areas for future cooperation at the eighth LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Beijing last week, which include fostering connectivity, tackling new and emerging challenges, and driving growth through innovative collaboration, said Pinsuda Jayanama, a senior official for Mekong cooperation.

The LMC consists of six countries, namely China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Through advancing future connectivity, infrastructure development, including Thailand's Landbridge project, linking the Indian and Pacific oceans, and the China-Thailand railway, will help boost connectivity within the LMC region, Pinsuda told a press briefing.

With the integration of both physical and digital connectivity, the Southeast Asian country aims to develop information, economic and regulatory connectivity in support of cross-border trade facilitation and special economic zones in the LMC countries, she said.

Addressing new and emerging challenges, Pinsuda said transnational crime, online gambling, cyber scams, transborder haze pollution, energy and food security, as well as water management, are common shared interests among the LMC countries.

Thailand will also support the building of new growth engines through cooperation in science, technology and innovation, along with promoting the green economy and tourism recovery among the LMC countries, she added.

The official also noted that the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), in which China is a partner, will work together with the LMC framework to further the development of the Mekong sub-region in the areas of seamless connectivity, integrated economic cooperation, and smart and sustainable development.