MRC Mekong River Summit and International conference on April, 2-5 2010, Hua Hin, Thailand. This Summit is the first of its kind, will gather together regional political leaders and a range of experts in the field of integrated water resources management. It will serve to strengthen regional cooperation between member countries, dialogue partners and civil society at large in this important area.

Photo: vtveen

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was formed on 5 April 1995 by an agreement between the governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam. The four countries signed The Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin and agreed on joint management of their shared water resources and development of the economic potential of the river.

The MRC is an international, country-driven river basin organization that provides the institutional framework to promote regional cooperation in order to implement the 1995 Agreement. The MRC serves its member states by supporting decisions and promoting action on sustainable development and poverty alleviation as a contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The Royal Thai Government and the MRC, as the hosts, will share more than 50 years of experience in managing the Mekong Basin, and at the same time draw lessons and inspiration from other basins throughout the world.

The Closing session will be co-chaired by high level representatives of the MRC and the Royal Thai Government. Building on a continuous drafting process by a small representative group throughout the Conference, and including the final key recommendations from the RBO Leaders Panel, the Chair will present the Summary of the Conference. The Summary by the co-Chairs will subsequently be edited into the Conference Statement.

Sources: mrcmekong.org, mrcsummit2010.org