Vietnam welcomes US’s practical assistance for Mekong nations: ambassador
Vietnam welcomes the US Government’s strong commitment and practical actions to strengthen its cooperation with and support for Mekong countries, notably the donation of millions of doses of vaccines and many medical equipment serving COVID-19 prevention and control in the region, said a Vietnamese official.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc (Photo: VNA)
Washington DC (VNA) – Vietnam welcomes the USGovernment’s strong commitment and practical actions to strengthen its cooperationwith and support for Mekong countries, notably the donation of millions ofdoses of vaccines and many medical equipment serving COVID-19 prevention andcontrol in the region, said a Vietnamese official.
At a virtual opening ceremony of a conference under the Mekong-USPartnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue, Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha KimNgoc lauded the rapid growth of the partnership over the past time. The conference, themed energy and infrastructure, gathersmore than 130 representatives of the sides and a number of other partners.
In his speech, Ngoc affirmed that energy and infrastructureare always a high priority in cooperation among Mekong countries in particularand ASEAN member states in general, which is important to help narrow thedevelopment gap.
The diplomat suggested that the US and Mekong countriescontinue to attach importance to their cooperation in the fields, especially in post-pandemic recovery efforts.
He hoped there will be high-quality US projects implemented inthe Mekong sub-region.
Reaffirming the nation’s strong commitment to the region andthe importance of the Mekong-US Partnership, US Assistant Secretary of StateDaniel J. Kritenbrink said that in the coming time, the US will continue tocoordinate with Mekong nations and other partners to implement agreed plans andprojects.
The US will coordinate with Japan to provide technicalsupport for the development of renewable energy and cross-border electricitytrade, and to improve energy markets, promote a pilot project to build anenergy storage system in Vietnam, and another project on electric vehicle development inThailand.
Participants discussed orientations for sustainable energyand infrastructure development in the Mekong sub-region, ensuringsocio-economic goals, and improving the capacity to adapt to climate change.
They also mentioned such challenges as differences betweencountries' legal regulations, lack of coordination in the implementation ofsome hydropower projects, and increasingly complicated climate change.
The event is the second in a series of Mekong-USPartnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue conferences slated for 2021 – 2023./.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc (Photo: VNA) 
