Accordingly, five member countries namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) will focus on two cooperation pillars: (i) water, energy, food and environment and (ii) human development and connectivity.

Other cooperation domains such as gender equality, women empowerment, and public-private partnership will be incorporated in the LMI’s activities.

The Foreign Ministers underlined the necessity to continue advancing the development of a common vision and strategic framework for improving the effectiveness of water resource management.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh said the LMI is one of the top mechanisms to promote sustainable and inclusive development of the sub-region while speaking highly of the U.S. assistance to the member countries over the past 9 years.

Minh suggested that the U.S. should strengthen support for the sub-region in terms of human resource development and improvement of research and development capacity.

He called for enhanced cooperation in improving climate-resilient agriculture and productivity, preventing and reducing disaster risks, and building drought and flood early warning system.

The Lower Mekong Initiative, launched in 2009, is a multinational partnership among the five ASEAN members and the U.S. to create integrated cooperation in the sub-region, serving as a platform to address complex transnational development and policy challengers./.