Laos is ready to host the 6th ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong cooperation initiative) at the end of next year.
The upcoming meeting is expected to be held in Pakxe district, Champassak province in southern Laos, which shares the borders with Cambodia and Thailand.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Sommad Pholsena, has announced the country’s readiness for this meeting during his meeting with Deputy Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria, Ms Atanaska Nikolova.
During the talks, Mr Sommad and Ms Nikolova exchanged their views on mutually interesting issues, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
They also agreed to enhance their cooperation between the two ministries and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the near future.
Mr Sommad and his delegation met with Ms Nikolova during their participation at the 5th ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong Cooperation Initiative), held in Ruse, Bulgaria, on December 1, the ministry said.
The event is part of the annual series in the framework of the ASEM Sustainable Development Dialogue (the Danube-Mekong cooperation initiative), launched by Hungary upon consultations with ASEM partners in 2012, of which Bulgaria is a co-sponsor together with Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
Before participating in this event, Mr Sommad and his delegates attended the 2nd Budapest Water Summit, held at Millenáris Park in Budapest, Hungary from November 28-30.
The Summit 2016 was organised by the Hungarian government in cooperation with the World Water Council, under the patronage of János Áder, President of Hungary.
The mission of the Summit states that instead of conflicts and global risks, water shall be the source of cooperation, peace and development for all the countries committed to sustainable development.
To this end, participants of the Budapest Water Summit 2016 laid down their proposed solutions for the relevant international bodies by adopting the “Budapest Statement 2016”.
During this summit, Mr Sommad met bilaterally with the Minister of Interior, Mr Sándor Pintér, and had signed the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of water resources management in order to enhance cooperation between two ministries.
On this occasion, Mr Sommad also met the Minister for Environment of Luxembourg, Mrs Carole Dieschbourg, and discussed the cooperation between two ministries, especially the result of the 22nd Conference of Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which just was organised from November 7-18 in Morocco.
Source: Vientiane Times
