BANGKOK, Jan 17 — Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the 7th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group (RWG) Meeting at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Bangkok on January 29 – 30.
According to the Ministry website, participants will include officials from all six LMI countries, including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States.
The Meeting will be also attended by representatives from the “Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM),” which include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Mekong River Commission (MRC), the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank.
At this meeting, participants will review progress of the six areas of LMI cooperation, including public health, connectivity, education, environment and water, agriculture and food security, and energy security. In this regard, Thailand will co-host the Working Group Meetings on Education and Energy Security with the United States.
Discussions will be also focused on the cross-cutting themes of the Water, Energy and Food Security nexus challenges, as well as female empowerment and the promotion of gender equality, two new challenges high on the agenda of the LMI.
The meeting will also be the first time for the Eminent and Expert Persons Group (EEPG) to meet and discuss recommendations and approaches to addressing sustainability in the region.
The LMI is a cooperation framework aimed at reducing the development gap between older and newer ASEAN members and supporting the realisation of the ASEAN Community.
As a member, Thailand has played an important role as a development partner with the United States in promoting sustainable development in the region. A series of projects have subsequently been implemented on education, public health, energy and human resources development. (MCOT online news)
