Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on behalf of the Vietnamese Government and people affirmed Vietnam’s determination, commitments and cooperation with other member countries in implementing the 1995 Mekong Agreement and the Hua Hin Statement to carry out a common goal of developing the Mekong River Delta sustainably.

Mr Hai called on strategic partners, other nations and international organisations help the MRC implement its assigned tasks.

Deputy PM Hai expressed his delight at reports from MRC members on the initial results of the implementation of commitments of the Hua Hin Statement while emphasizing that MRC members praised China’s positive cooperation and Myanmar’s wish to join the MRC.

At the ASEAN meetings in 2010, ASEAN leaders discussed a series of issues related to sustainable development, environmental protection and efforts to cope with climate change in the Mekong River Basin. The initiatives for Mekong- US and Mekong- Japan cooperation were since carried out.

Mr Hai attributed the achievements to close cooperation among member countries, active support from strategic partners and the international community as well as great efforts by the MRC Secretariat.

He also praised China and Myanmar for promoting cooperation with the MRC as dialogue partners and international support for the MRC.

The Mekong River Basin is facing challenges and difficulties due to exhaustion of natural resources, particularly water resources which adversely affected the lives of tens of millions of people in the basin. For that reason, Mr Hai asked the MRC to work on solutions to ensure sustainable development of water resources, cope with climate change in order to protect the ecological environment and lives of local people.

At the session, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Pham Khoi Nguyen, MRC Chairman for 2010-2011 term said apart from the participation of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, China and Myanmar also joined the session which showed the common interest as well as strong optimism about the future of the Mekong River Delta.