Interview: Myanmar anticipates big push in regional development with Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism

Myanmar has anticipated a big push for the regional development with the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mehanism, Dr.Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the Union of Myanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industries (UMFCCI), said Tuesday.

Leaders of LMC are scheduled to meet for the first time in China's Hainan Sanya on Wednesday on cooperative initiatives and measures.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Maung Maung Lay expressed the belief that through such cooperation, Myanmar will be developed better in the future.

UMFCCI is Myanmar's biggest business organization and Maung Maung Lay has rich experience on economic and trade cooperation between China and Myanma and in the region.

Maung Maung Lay said " Friends can be selected but neighbors cannot be chosen", believing that Myanmar's future is bound to be better if it can cooperate with such a big neighbor (China).

Noting that a country's development is inseparable from financial support, he said if there is a big country like China taking part in LMC, development of LMC countries will be surely strengthened.

Aware of the mutual need among LMC countries and common will for development, he said such cooperation can be launched under the new mechanism to enhance understanding among the regional countries.

He stressed the regional importance of LMC, especially for the six member countries's political, social and security affairs sectors. In the past, The Southeast Asian region depended only on financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank. At present, China has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in which Myanmar is also a founding member.

He spoke highly of the five priorities of the current phase of LMC, especially the connectivity proposed by China at a meeting of LMC in Yunnan's Jing Hong in November last year.

With regard to the political security, one of the pressing sectors of LMC mechanism, Maung Maung Lay of of the view that the main responsibility is border security cooperation. The most important is curbing of transnational criminal activities. He proposed that multi-parties should share the information in this aspect.

He also suggested the six LMC countries, namely China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, further explore on trade order to prevent illegal trade.

The Lancang-mekong River is a natural link between the six countries.

The LMC framework was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in November 2014 when he attended the 17th China-ASEAN leaders meeting. Endit