On March 7, in Vientiane, the capital of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mr. KOIZUMI Tsutomu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Ms. Busadee SANTIPITAKS, Chief Executive Officer of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat, signed and exchanged notes for the Grant Aid “The Project for Strengthening Flood and Drought Risk Management in the Lower Mekong Basin” (grant provision of up to 725 million yen).
- In the Mekong River Basin, the impacts of climate change and basin development are causing an increase in the damage from floods and droughts. In particular, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, which are located in the lower reaches of the basin, have reported frequent floods as well as water shortages and damage to agriculture due to large-scale droughts. As the frequency of disasters is expected to increase in the future, it is necessary to strengthen flood and drought countermeasures through cooperation between the countries in the basin.
- The Project aims to improve the capacity to deal with floods and droughts in the four Mekong River downstream countries mentioned above by strengthening comprehensive flood and drought early warning systems, formulating flood and drought adaptation guidelines, and strengthening capacity for their implementation, thereby contributing to disaster-resilient societies in these four countries.
- This Project embodies the cooperation in the area of water resource management and disaster risk reduction, as expressed in the “Mekong-Japan Initiative for SDGs towards 2030” and the “Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024”, both of which are important aspects of Japan-Mekong cooperation.
(Reference1) Mekong River Commission (MRC)
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established in accordance with the “Agreement on Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin” signed by four lower basin countries (Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos) in 1995. The MRC cooperates for the mutual benefit of the sustainable development, utilization, conservation and management of the water resources of the Mekong River Basin.
(Reference2) Mekong-Japan Initiative for the SDGs towards 2030
The Mekong-Japan Initiative for the SDGs towards 2030 is a framework for areas of cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region countries adopted at the 11th Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting in November 2019.
(Reference3) Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024
The Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024 is a policy for cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region countries for the next five years adopted at the 15th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting in July 2024.