Mekong Ganga Cooperation meet discusses draft action plan

A key meeting of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation was held here on Tuesday as member states reviewed the progress made under the initiative and deliberated on a draft action plan to be adopted at the ministerial meeting next month.

The MekongGanga Cooperation (MGC) was established in 2000 and it comprises six member countries -- India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

The 11th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials' Meeting, attended by senior officials from all six MGC member states, was co-chaired by Secretary East Vijay Thakur Singh and Doan Phuong Lan, Deputy Director General, Department of Economic Affairs in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The meeting reviewed the progress made since the 9th MGC ministerial meeting held in Singapore on August 2, 2018 in all seven areas of cooperation -- tourism and culture, education, science and technology, traditional medicine and health, agriculture and allied sectors, water resources management, transportation and communication, and small and medium enterprises.

They also discussed the draft MGC Plan of Action (2019-22) to be adopted at the 10th MGC ministerial meeting in Bangkok on August 1, 2019.

India's assistance to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) under the MGC Quick Impact Project Scheme (QIPS) since its inception in 2014 is moving at a steady pace, the MEA said.

A total of 24 projects have been completed so far under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation, including 15 projects in Cambodia and 9 in Vietnam at a cost of USD 1.2 million, generating significant positive impact among beneficiary communities, it said.

In addition, currently one project in Cambodia and three projects in Lao PDR are under implementation, the statement said.

Other notable initiatives under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative include the MGC Asian Traditional Textile Museum (MGC ATTM) in Siem Reap, Cambodia and the Common Archival Resource Centre (CERC) at Nalanda University, Rajgir.

India also offers a large number of scholarships for MGC countries.