Mekong River flows through Vietnam (Source: WWF)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Global Centre for Mekong Studies (GCMS)
made debut in Cambodia on September 28, aiming to strengthen the academic
exchange and support for the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC).
Cambodian Prince
Norodom Sirivudh, Chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace
(CICP), announced the launch of the GCMS during a ceremony attended by
representatives of six top think tanks from LMC members.
The six top think
tanks included CICP, the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), the Institute
of Foreign Affairs of Laos, the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and
International Studies (MISIS), Thailand’s Devawongse Varopakarm Institute of
Foreign Affairs, and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV).
Speaking at the
launching ceremony, Zuo Wenxing, political counsellor of the Embassy of China in
Cambodia, said that LMC is a new type of sub-regional cooperation and GCMS
could assist LMC’s sustainable development academically.
Sok Siphana, an
advisor of the Royal Government of Cambodia, said that LMC needs new ideas and
support from all walks of life from the six LMC states in order to build
stronger mutual trust, reduce developmental gap and promote synergy with other
initiatives in this region.
Meanwhile, Rong
Ying, CIIS’s vice president and director of the GCMS-China Center, said GCMS is
an open, shared and public platform for all participants.
GCMS will invite
famous experts and related research institutions in this region and around the
world, providing strong intellectual support for LMC by collecting strength
from every aspect, he said.
LMC is the first
sub-regional cooperation mechanism that includes all basin countries of
Lancang-Mekong River – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Since its formation in March 2016, the LMC has made steady progress with
many specific cooperation programs that have been underway in the region.-VNA