Mekong - U.S. Partnership
Learning to Manage Groundwater Data in Thailand
A professional cohort of geologists and planners from Thailand’s Department of Groundwater Resources (DGR) has learned new skills for managing groundwater data, through a custom-designed training course led by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Thai farmers and poor household in some of the driest parts of the country rely on groundwater for drinking and irrigation,…
“Strengthening Sustainable Seed System for the Lower Mekong Countries” Workshop June 8-10, 2021
Mekong-U.S. Partnership Virtual Workshop will be organized by ‘The Asia and Pacific Seed Association’ on 8- 10 June 2021 as a virtual workshop. The theme would be "Strengthening Sustainable Seed System for the Lower Mekong Countries”. This Activity is a component of the Seed Trade Capacity Building Project in the Lower Mekong Region funded under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), formerly known as Lower Mekong Initiative. Following the successful first Mekong Regional workshop on seeds on 2018, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service is inviting Country Representative from the Seed Offices of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia to attend the Lower Mekong Seed Regional Workshop.
During this time Seed Trade Capacity Building in the Lower Mekong Progress Report will be presented by Government official delegations’ representative on each topic (Plant variety protection, seed lab accreditation, seed certification and phyto-sanitary regulation). Discussion groups will be organized to review on the priority and the type of capacity building training is needed in the region and in its respective country.<
NexGen Program Announcement
Mekong-US Partnership Financial Support for your Mekong Project NexGen Mekong Scientists can provide up to 6-month research assistantships for your Mekong Based project. NexGen empowers Mekong young scientists and early career professionals from the region to responsibly steward the Mekong River Basin and its natural resources. NexGen promotes interdisciplinary approaches to the complex challenges faced…
Mekong-U.S. Partnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogue #1
The Stimson Center and the International Union of Nature (IUCN) will host the first of six Mekong-US Partnership Track 1.5 Policy Dialogues, with the first four-day event beginning March 19 (Asia)/March 18 (U.S.). The opening plenary session will feature keynote remarks from Ambassador Atul Keshap, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and a high-level panel. The opening plenary session is open to the public and press. RSVP to attend opening plenary: March 19, 8:30am ICT (9:30pm EDT).
Release of the Transboundary River Governance Conference Report: February 25
Please join the East-West Center for the release of the Report from the Indo-Pacific Conference on Strengthening Governance of Transboundary Rivers. This webinar will feature discussion with U.S. government officials on the report, which details the findings of the October 2020 Conference that convened partners and stakeholders from across the Indo-Pacific region to share best practices and lessons learned related to the cooperative development and management of transboundary rivers.
Investigating Energy Alternatives to Hydropower
Once viewed as a clean energy source, the impacts of mainstream hydropower dams on the Mekong are now plain to see. They include fisheries decline, biodiversity loss, waterway transport disruptions, and falling household incomes in riverside communities. In 2020, Cambodia called a 10-year moratorium on building any more hydropower dams domestically. But over the border…
Capacity Building during the COVID-19 Pandemic
When the first Covid-19 cases were reported, the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership (SIP) team was still closing out our biggest annual event, the Mekong Research Symposium in Hanoi, Vietnam. Almost 300 people had attended the water management event, and interest was high for another such meeting. Then came January 2020. Some SIP project activities slowed, but plans…
“Towards a Resilient and Connected Mekong:” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Atul Keshap’s Remarks at the 2021 Friends of the Mekong Policy Dialogue
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Keshap provided opening remarks at the 2021 Friends of the Mekong Policy Dialogue on January 12, 2021.
Why The Mekong Region Matters to the United States, ASEAN, and the Indo-Pacific
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell published an article titled "Why the Mekong Region Matters to the United States, ASEAN, and the Indo-Pacific" in the Cambodia Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP) Journal of Greater Mekong Studies.
United States and Vietnam Convene 17 Friends of the Mekong in Support of a Secure, Prosperous, and Open Mekong Region
On January 12, the United States and Vietnam co-hosted the first Friends of the Mekong Policy Dialogue under the new Mekong-U.S. Partnership. In his remarks, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Atul Keshap emphasized that the United States is committed to a secure, open, and prosperous Mekong region, highlighting the importance of this region to ASEAN centrality and to the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The 17 participating countries and institutions under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership and the Friends of the Mekong offered recommendations on sustainable infrastructure development and connectivity; human resource development and building the foundations for a Mekong digital economy; sustainable water, natural resource management, and environmental protection; and COVID response and regional collaboration on health security.
Message from our Ambassadors
Now more than ever, the United States sees the importance of a partnership with the Mekong Region. Perhaps the best example of that is the new Mekong-U.S. Partnership, which was launched in 2020 as a successor to the Lower Mekong Initiative. This partnership – with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the ASEAN Secretariat – aims to improve lives in the Mekong Region by spurring economic growth, improving natural resource management, and tackling transnational crime. “We are open to working with all partners who shared our principled, transparent approach,” said Melissa A. Brown, Head of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. Watch this video to learn more:
