Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Photo: VNA)

The summit will also be attended by high-ranking leaders from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and China.

The MLC is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism that was jointly established in 2016 by six countries along the Mekong River, namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Since then, various exchange activities among political parties, officials, youth and religious groups have been organised.

The biennial event is organised in rotation among member countries.

Third Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit to be held online

The third Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit will be held in a virtual format on August 24 under the chair of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

The biennial summit will also see the participation of leaders of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Under the theme "Enhancing Partnership for Shared Prosperity", the leaders will review the progress of cooperation since the previous summit.

They will also chart the future directions for strengthening cooperation in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, recovering economic growth in post-COVID-19 period, and managing and using the Mekong water resources in a sustainable manner.

The Mekong river, known as Lancang in China, is the 12th longest river in the world. The river’s basin is home to around 1,700 fish species, making it the most diverse basin after the Amazon and Congo.

The first Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit was held in China in March 2016, while the second took place in Cambodia in early 2018.

China is currently the largest trade partner of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and the second biggest trader of Laos./.VNA