PHNOM PENH, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The National Secretariat of Cambodia for Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) will be launched here on Tuesday to further strengthen the cooperation mechanism, said a Foreign Ministry press release on Monday.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon, along with ambassadors or representatives of the Lancang-Mekong countries in Cambodia, will attend the launching ceremony to be held at the Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh, the release said.
Six countries along the Mekong (known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch) are China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
"The launching of this National Secretariat marks Cambodia's engagement together with other four countries of the Southeast Asia that are geographically located along the Mekong River in cooperating closely with China to promote development in the region with the objective of creating a community of shared future of peace and prosperity," it said.
The creation of the national secretariat is made after the LMC foreign ministers agreed during their second meeting last December to set up a national secretariat or coordination unit within their respective ministries of foreign affairs.
Since its establishment in 2015, the LMC has adopted a two-year rotation among Mekong's riparian countries to co-chair with China, the permanent chair of Lancang River.
According to the press release, Cambodia will host and co-chair with China the second LMC Leaders' Meeting in January next year.
Priority areas under the LMC include connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture, and poverty reduction.
