EAM Speaks with Cambodian FM, Discusses Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Myanmar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday spoke with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, and said that India will work closely with Phnom Penh, which is the ASEAN Chair.

The EAM also discussed the situation in Myanmar and on Mekong Ganga Cooperation.

In October last year, Cambodia took over as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2022, and vowed to enhance the bloc’s centrality, unity and development in all fields.

India has committed to financing Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) for Mekong countries Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam at the 11th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July last year.

Aimed to bring about tangible results that contribute to improving people’s livelihoods across the sub-region, the QIPs was agreed to during a video conference on July 21 last year co-chaired by EAM Jaishankar, and Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia.

Foreign Ministers of the Lower Mekong countries welcomed India’s assistance to the region under the QIPs since its inception in 2015. Under the program, some 68 projects worth US$3.4 million were implemented during 2016-2020.

In addition, India has provided a $2 billion loan to projects on developing water resources, infrastructure, digitalization, rural electrification, irrigation, and education in five Mekong countries.

The ministers also emphasized that over the past two decades, many projects and activities under the MGC framework have constituted an active part in the development of the Mekong sub-region in terms of health, education, environment, culture, management of water resources, science, and technology, transport and information, capacity building and skills development.

In the field of trade and investment, the two-way trade between the Mekong countries and India rose 25 times over the past two decades to hit $25 billion in 2020. Transport projects have been expanded with directs flights to big cities within the region.

The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 in Vientiane, Laos with an aim to take collective action towards inclusive regional socio-economic development and strengthening the bondage of friendship among the people of the region. It stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical, and civilizational ties between six countries.

Source: UNI