H.E. Mr. Zhou Xuewen, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, met with delegates from Lancang-Mekong five member countries in Beijing for the First Meeting of the Joint Working Group of LMC on February 26, 2017.
Mr. Zhou Xuewen welcomed the delegates from five member countries, and he pointed out that Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) was born for water and are closely inter-connected, and water is the important mechanism for the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation among six countries. The First Meeting of Joint Working Group on Water Resources Cooperation of LMC is the crucial action to advance implement mechanism of the First LMC Leaders’ Meeting and the Second LMC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. It will further strengthen the practical water resources cooperation under the LMC mechanism; promote the sub-regional water resources sustainable management, and deliver real benefits to its own people of six countries.
Mr. Zhou Xuewen expressed that Ministry of Water Resources of China has always attaches great importance to the exchange and cooperation among the Lancang-Mekong countries in the past, and have achieved successful and fruitful cooperative results in integrated water resources management, flood prevention and disaster reduction, hydrological information reporting and professional training areas, which enhanced the sustainable development of water resources among each country.
Water resources cooperation is one of five key priority of LMC cooperation. Since last year, Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) of China has actively implemented the spirit of 1st LMC Leaders’ Meeting, promoting the establishment of Joint Working Group on water resources cooperation of LMC, as well as pushing the relevant work of establishing the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Center in China, and further supports the national capacity building of Lancang-Mekong countries, which MWR invited more than 130 officials, experts and scholars to come to China for exchange and training in 2016. After realizing that the Lancang-Mekong downstream countries were suffering the severe drought, China attached the great importance to the situation, overcame various difficulties at home, and implemented emergency water supplement from its domestic reservoir to Mekong downstream countries that helped the Mekong Basin countries for drought relief.
According to the joint observation and evaluation technical report conducted by the experts’ team from Ministry of Water Resources of China and MRC Secretariat, which states that the emergency water supplement to Mekong River achieved good results. All Mekong Basin countries highly praised and appreciated China’s rescuing actions. Mr. Zhou Xuewen lasted wished First Meeting of Joint Working Group on Water Resources Cooperation of LMC a complete success.
The head of delegations of JWG of all the Lancang-Mekong five countries expressed their appreciations for China’s long time efforts and supports on water resources areas, and they wish to deepen technical exchange and cooperation on water resources areas, learn the advanced and successful water management experiences from China. To benefit the people and to achieve common prosperity and development of all Basin countries
Delegates from the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of International Cooperation, Science and technology of MWR, Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, Bureau of Hydrology of MWR, Changjiang Water Resources Commission of MWR were present at the meeting.
