Hanoi (VNA)– The participation in the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit by PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is the affirmation of Vietnam’s care for and strongcommitment to the cooperation within the MRC to the spirit of the 1995 MekongAgreement towards enhancing the agency’s role and the solidarity andcooperation among member countries for mutual interests.

On the evening of April 5, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the high-rankingdelegation of the Vietnamese Government landed in Hanoi, successfully wrappingup their trip to attend the third MRC Summit in Siem Reap, Cambodia at theinvitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Themed “'EnhancingJoint Efforts and Partnerships towards Achievement of the SustainableDevelopment Goals in the Mekong River Basin,” the summit reviewed cooperationwithin the commission and the implementation of commitments made at the secondsummit in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City in 2014, while identifying priority areasin the next periods to use water resources and other resources in the Mekong Riverbasin in a fair, appropriate and sustainable manner.

At the summit, PM Phuc pointed out that the Mekong River basin countries are dealingwith visible, serious consequences of the exhausting water resources of theMekong River and called for prompt and concrete actions to use the waterresources and other related resources sustainably, properly and fairly.

He also called for partiesto work together and take actions to ensure the Mekong River will be foreverthe river of peace, which provides long-lasting, sustainable and wealthy existencefor countries and people in the region.

The summit adopted the Siem Rep Declaration which affirms the importance ofMekong cooperation as well as the acceleration of the implementation of the1995 Mekong Agreement. The document also outlines priority activities of thecommission for the next four years and long-term orientations for cooperationwithin the commission.

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Phuc had bilateral meetings with Cambodianand Lao counterparts Hun Sen and Thongloun Sisoulith and the head of theChinese delegation to discuss measures and orientations for bilateral ties. Hemet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Siem Reap.

In 1956, the Mekong Committee was established under the auspices of the UnitedNations to coordinate aid and manage resources in the river basin. In 1995,Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signed an Agreement on the Cooperation forthe Sustainable Development of the Mekong River and set up the Mekong RiverCommission (MRC), replacing the Mekong Committee.

The MRC holds itssummit every four years, starting from 2010. The first MRC summit was held inHua Hin, Thailand in 2010 and the second one took place in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam in 2014.-VNA