The 10th Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held on August 15 in Kunming, Yunnan. The meeting was co-chaired by Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and China’s Foreign Minister, and Thailand’s Foreign Minister, Don Pramudwinai. It was attended by Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Laos’ Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Swe, and Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
Wang Yi stated that over the past decade, the six countries have focused on implementing key consensus decisions made by their leaders, propelling Lancang-Mekong Cooperation onto a rapid path of development and establishing it as one of the most dynamic and promising cooperation mechanisms in the region. Standing at a new starting point, all parties should work to promote unity and cooperation, openness and win-win results, green innovation, and the development of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation for peace and tranquility. Together, they should usher in a new golden decade for the LMC and accelerate the building of a community of shared interests for the Lancang-Mekong countries, aiming for peace and prosperity.
Wang Yi offered four recommendations: strengthen top-level design; pursue innovative development; deepen law enforcement cooperation; and enhance people-to-people exchanges.
Participants at the meeting highly praised the achievements of the LMC over the past ten years and acknowledged China’s pivotal leadership. All parties agreed that, in the face of a complex and severe international landscape, they must strengthen cooperation in all areas, uphold multilateralism, safeguard free trade, combat cross-border crimes, and jointly address challenges to maintain regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Three outcome documents were released at the meeting: the 2024 Progress Report on the Implementation of the LMC Five-Year Work Plan (2023–2027); the 2025 Project List Supported by the LMC Special Fund; and the Progress, Challenges, and Way Forward in Strengthening Non-Traditional Security Cooperation under the LMC Mechanism.
Source: Lily-Hashim-Tuhina, China Media Group