Lancang-Mekong Cooperation documents to be endorsed at Phnom Penh Summit: Thailand

BANGKOK, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Thailand will bring documents concerning cooperation of the six riparian countries of the Mekong River for endorsement at the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting next Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

The first document is the Five-year Plan of Action(2018-2022) to enforce cooperation and development projects, and the other is the Phnom Penh Declaration that underscores the countries' political wills on cooperations in various aspects, the ministry said at its first weekly press conference in this year.

According to the ministry, Thailand hopes to push forward concrete cooperation among the LMC countries under the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China.

The two documents have been endorsed by the Thai cabinet on Wednesday. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will attend the 2nd LMC Summit on Jan.10 in Cambodia's Phnom Penh.

The LMC was initiated by China in 2015 and the first summit took place in Sanya, China in 2016. The first summit identified three pillars of cooperation: politics and security; economics and sustainable development; and society, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

The LMC comprises six countries -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai attended the 3rd MLC Foreign Ministers' Meeting in China's Yunnan province in last December.

In the meeting, Thailand emphasized that it attaches importance on the LMC with the main purpose of the sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region and reducing development disparity among member states, which will promote better livelihood, peace, and prosperity among the people of the region.

The LMC's goals are also consistent with Thailand's economic development policies such as Thailand 4.0, connectivity, promoting development in neighboring countries, as well as building a stronger ASEAN community, said the ministry. Enditem