PHNOM PENH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia said on Saturday that the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) foreign ministers have vowed to further enhance cooperation towards building a prosperous region.
The ministers reaffirmed their continued support for multilateralism, the UN-centered international system, and the rule-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, said a Cambodian foreign ministry's statement.
They also agreed to strengthen economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties and step up efforts to address non-traditional security issues, the statement said.
The statement was released after Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn returned from the fifth LMC foreign ministers' meeting, which was held in Vientiane, Laos on Thursday.
During the meeting, Sokhonn, who is also deputy prime minister, reiterated Cambodia's commitment to strengthening and deepening the bond of friendship between the Mekong countries and China to materialize the vision of building a community of shared future of peace and prosperity.
According to the statement, Sokhonn expressed Cambodia's full support for China's initiative on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the realization of the Lancang-Mekong Economic Development Belt.
He said the initiative will further connect the Mekong sub-region as a growth pole to the landmass of China with the primary objective of energizing regional value chains, boosting investments in quality infrastructure and enhancing cultural links and people-to-people contacts across the region.
In this regard, he further encouraged respective LMC government agencies to study the possible synergy between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the above-mentioned initiative.
