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2022. November VOL. 656
- 2022. November VOL. 656
- ENG
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2022. November VOL. 656
On October 5, K-water kicked off the ‘1st Korea-Mekong International Water Forum’ at Lotte Hotel Seoul. The forum is a large-scale international event attended by representatives/ officials from S. Korea, the Mekong River regional countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, the U.S. Embassy, Australian Embassy, and the partner organizations tasked with Mekong region development, such as USAID, UNFAO, and the World Bank.
The Mekong River is the longest river in Southeast Asia that originates in Tibet and runs 4,020km through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to the South China Sea. The forums were hosted by the Ministry of Environment and K-water, and organized by the Korea-Mekong Water Management Center to exchange specific forms of cooperation for the resolution of water issues in the Mekong region.
Attendees included Han Hwa-jin, the minister of environment, Park Jae-hyeon K-water CEO, Ban Ki-moon, chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future(formerly 8th UN Secretary General), ministers and vice ministers from the five countries in the Mekong region, Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to Korea, and Catherine Raper, the Australian ambassador to Korea, among others.
Under the theme, ‘Increasing the Climate Resiliency of the Mekong Region through Digital Water Management’, the forum provided an opportunity to share Korea’s smart water management technology using cutting-edge technology, based on the experiences and wisdom of the partner organizations for the Mekong region development project.
It’s my hope that the Korea-Mekong International Water Forum serves as a catalyst to work out water issues in the Mekong region and promote active cooperation between Mekong countries, let alone with related international organizations.
Starting with the opening ceremony, the forum included a high-level multilateral conference, the international development cooperation partners session, sessions by theme, the water project session, and a special session.
At ‘the high-level multilateral conference’, representatives/officials from the five Mekong countries shared ideas and opinions on the theme of ‘Mekong Regional Governance to Respond to Climate Change.’
‘The development partners session’ brought together development cooperation organizations, such as the World Bank(WB), United States Agency for International Development(USAID), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(UNFAO), Australian Water Partnership(AWP), and United States Army Corps of Engineers(USACE) to discuss the Mekong region cooperation project and present financing sources.
In addition to these sessions, there were other discussion sessions hosted by specialized organizations in Korea and abroad, such as the Korea Environment Institute, UNESCO International Center for Water Security, and the Mekong River Commission(MRC). The Korea-US Technology Forum was organized jointly by NASA, USACE and K-water.
K-water CEO Jae-hyeon Park explained, “The 1st Korea-Mekong International Water Forum was organized as a development cooperation platform to kick off renewed momentum for cooperation between Korea and the Mekong countries.” He added, “It’s my hope that the Korea-Mekong International Water Forum to be held regularly serves as a catalyst to work out water issues in the Mekong region and promote active cooperation between Mekong countries, let alone with related international organizations.”
※ This interview was conducted in accordance with the COVID-19 safety rules.
