Kim Dong-bae, director-general of the ASEAN and Southeast Asia Affairs Bureau at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (right) and Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat CEO Anoulak Kittikhoun display their copies of the signed grant note on July 25. MRC Secretariat
South Korea committed to a grant of $1 million to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) for 2024, becoming its newest development partner (DP), pledging the possibility of providing additional contributions in following years, according to the MRC Secretariat.
The funding is aimed at supporting the implementation of the Basin Development Strategy 2021-2030 for the Mekong River Basin and the MRC Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
The plans outline comprehensive approaches to managing the Mekong River Basin’s resources, aiming to balance economic growth, environmental protection and social development.
The ceremony took place at MRC headquarters in Vientiane, Laos, on July 25. Kim Dong-bae, director-general of the ASEAN and Southeast Asia Affairs Bureau at Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and MRC Secretariat CEO Anoulak Kittikhoun signed the grant note.
Kim and Korean ambassador to Laos Jung Yung Soo represented the Korean delegation.
At the event, Kim highlighted the importance of the partnership in fostering sustainable development and regional cooperation in the basin.
The contribution will play a crucial role in advancing these initiatives, ensuring the well-being of communities within the basin, the secretariat said in a July 29 press release.
“As a friend of the Mekong countries and a member of our region, it is high time for the Republic of Korea to join the premier regional body for Mekong River Basin management as a DP.
“This will add a strategic approach to cooperation and build on past and ongoing collaborations between the MRC and various Korean agencies,” said Kittikhoun.
As a DP, Korea joins a diverse group of other countries that provide financial resources to support and contribute to the sustainable management and development of the Mekong River Basin, said the secretariat.
“In the midst of ongoing challenges with making development sustainable and addressing climate change and water security, a partnership approach significantly boosts the MRC’s efforts to promote regional cooperation and sustainable development, contributing to the prosperity, peace and resilience of the Mekong region,” it said.
