Cambodian FM appreciates China's support for LMC countries in COVID-19 fight

PHNOM PENH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn on Saturday appreciated China for having assisted the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and global health crisis, Cambodia values China's commitment through the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Public Health Community and its leading role in providing medicines, medical supplies and millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner to the Mekong countries," he said in a message celebrating the annual LMC Week 2022.

He said China's contribution, in particular to Cambodia, has led to the success of the nation's vaccination campaign where the country could secure a vaccination coverage rate of over 92 percent and reopen its country to the rest of the world.

"These accomplishments, among others, are a strong testimonial to the efficacy and relevance of the LMC framework," he said.

The six LMC countries include China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

As 2022 marks the sixth anniversary of the LMC, Sokhonn, who is also Cambodian deputy prime minister, said the LMC region has become a "growth pole" in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, thanks to its geostrategic significance, economic weight, and enormous market potentials.

"Our close collaboration and solidarity over the past six years have enabled the LMC to sustain our development momentum, reinforce our economic complementarity and strengthen our people and cultural links, which are all the fundamental elements to build a more open, inclusive and sustainable community of shared future of peace and prosperity," he said.

Sokhonn said the LMC countries have just concluded successfully the Plan of Action (2018-2022) and are prime to work on the next phase of cooperation with focus on a people oriented development agenda.

"To secure our new sources of growth amidst the rapidly evolving global and regional economic conditions, we look to the realization of the Lancang-Mekong Economic Development Belt and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to further boost and deepen our regional integration efforts," he said.

"We are mindful that our developmental needs will place a strain on our natural resources and so we will combine our joint efforts to cooperate on the sustainable management of our water resources and on the management of our flood, drought and other extreme weather events," he added.

Sokhonn said through the LMC Special Fund, Cambodia has benefited from 67 projects amounting to more than 20 million U.S. dollars that support a broad range of cooperation activities in the field of rural development, poverty alleviation, water resources, agriculture, air connectivity, education, cultural heritage preservation, as well as women empowerment, among many others.

"As Cambodia holds the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) chairmanship this year, the LMC mechanism will certainly contribute its strong development component to ensure that ASEAN will continue to thrive in the true spirit of a community of shared future," he said.