VIENTIANE, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The two Secretariat Offices of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) will be merged into one, located in Lao capital Vientiane while the MRC Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Center will remain in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, to continue to provide regional flood forecasts.
These are the key points of a roadmap approved by the MRC Council at its 23rd annual meeting, held from Wednesday to Thursday in Pakxe of southern Lao Champassak province, Lao state-run online newspaper Vientiane Times reported on Friday.
The consolidation of the secretariat offices, currently located in Phnom Penh and Vientiane, was decided by the prime ministers of the two host countries, Cambodia and Laos in July 2016.
The council, the MRC's highest decision making body, approved the plan and the relocation process will start in the coming December and be finished by the end of February.
The decision came during an annual meeting where the four council members, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, discussed how to strengthen the implementation of MRC procedures, including the prior consultation process for mainstream development, cooperation with China and Myanmar and development partners, and other regional initiatives.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of implementing the Basin Development Strategy for 2016-2020 and the MRC Annual Work Plan for 2016. The council approved the MRC Annual Work Plan for 2017, with a fully funded budget of 15 million U.S. dollars.
Speaking at the meeting, Laos' Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and Chairperson of the MRC Council for 2016, Sommad Pholsena, said, "I'm very pleased and optimistic that our concerted efforts and the Mekong spirit will bring us more positive outcomes in our increased cooperation among member countries as well as cooperation with our dialogue partners, development partners and other stakeholders."
The MRC's development partners welcomed the decision and the efforts of the MRC member countries to establish a single secretariat office in Vientiane, according to the report.
