• Minister of External Affairs S.Jaishankar said that peace and prosperity in the Mekong region play a pivotal role in realising India’s vision for security and growth for all countries in the region under its Act East policy.

• In his opening remarks at the 12th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) meeting in Bangkok, Jaishankar said the lower Mekong region holds immense significance for India both in a historic sense and a contemporary one.

• The meeting discussed prioritising the implementation of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and expediting the conclusion of the Motor Vehicles Agreement between the three countries.

Mekong-Ganga Cooperation

• The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an initiative by six countries — India and five ASEAN countries — Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

• The emphasis is on four areas of cooperation, which are cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications.

• It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR.

• The grouping was initially called Ganga Suvarnabhumi Programme (GMSP).

• Both the Ganga and the Mekong are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins. 

• The MGC is also indicative of the cultural and commercial linkages among the member countries of the MGC down the centuries.

• The MGC meetings are co-chaired alternately every year between India and one of the five Mekong countries.

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