PHNOM PENH – Senior officials of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) gathered for a two-day meeting in Siem Reap on 6-7 November 2013 for the 5th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting and an informal discussion on the Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM). Delegates deliberated on the outcomes of the last LMI Ministerial Meeting in July 2013 during the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meetings in Brunei Darussalam and the measures to move forward the various initiatives under the Pillars of Agriculture and Food security, Connectivity, Education, Energy Security, Environment and Water, and Health.
Representatives from Australia and Republic of Korea were also in attendance to contribute in the dialogue of narrowing the development gap and accelerating economic integration to support establishing the ASEAN Community.
As the LMI seeks to be an essential mechanism and forum for building cooperation and capacity to narrow the development gap in ASEAN, close engagement among the U.S. and the five ASEAN countries, together with the LMI Coordination Hub and the ASEAN Secretariat is essential to developing a systematic and practical process to coordinate and monitor the implementation of joint cooperation projects under the LMI and the IAI.
Source: http://www.asean.org/news/item/press-release-lower-mekong-officials-meet-to-support-asean-integration-and-regional-cooperation?category_id=27