Rebalance to Asia III: Protecting the Environment and Ensuring Food and Water Security in East Asia and the Pacific

Testimony of Gregory Beck, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development before Foreign Relations Committee East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee“Rebalance to Asia III: Protecting the Environment and Ensuring Food and Water Security in East Asia and the Pacific”Chairman Cardin, Senator Rubio, and distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the…

Cambodian Cartoons Help to Fight Wildlife Crime

Wildlife Alliance, an NGO fighting wildlife crime in Cambodia, released two captivating animated Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to be aired throughout Cambodia.  The PSAs address the issue of the illegal wildlife consumption and encourage the public to not only stop consuming wildlife but also report wildlife crimes to the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) hotline.…

The Health Policy Project, Technical Exchange on Gender & Health Moves into its Second Phase

 At the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Second Regional Working Group Meeting held in Vientiane in November 2011, representatives from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) requested technical assistance from development partners to strengthen the newly established Division for the Promotion of Women’s Advancement within the Ministry of Health, and support for the Ministry’s gender…

Joint Statement: Sixth LMI Ministerial Meeting

On July 1, 2013, the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, and the U.S. Secretary of State and the Secretary-General of ASEAN met in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam for the 6th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting.Ministers endorsed LMI as a forum through which to address complex, transnational development…

Fact Sheet: 2013 U.S. Engagement in the Lower Mekong Initiative

On July 1, Secretary of State John Kerry led the United States’ delegation to the Sixth Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. LMI is the region’s only forum for addressing cross-border development and policy challenges facing the five Lower Mekong partner countries. LMI holds three official events and many…

U.S.and Cambodia Conduct Lower Mekong Initiative Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – An engulfing front has lumbered down Phnom Aural, Cambodia’s highest mountain, resulting in the tiger, pilated gibbon, and bush pig to seek shelter from the imminent storm.  The summer scene seems as commonplace as the humidity that warps and bends the Mekong basin into its magnificent splendor.  However, this storm is different. …

Media Note: Lower Mekong Initiative and Friends of the Lower Mekong Senior Officials Meetings in Brunei Darussalam

Senior officials from the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) and Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) member states met in separate meetings May 23 in Bandar Seri Begawan on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum Senior Officials Meeting (ARF SOM). The members of LMI are Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam,…

NEWS: Carbon Stock Assessment and Emissions Inventory in Asian Mangroves: Field Training for Scientists and Government Agency Staff

Trang, Thailand - Forested wetlands - including mangroves, peat swamps, cypress domes, and related ecosystems - are thought to hold some of the highest carbon densities among terrestrial (soil and vegetation) systems. In the Indo-Pacific region, mangroves cover as much as 6.8 million hectares, or approximately 40 percent of world's total, and it is estimated…

Joint Statement: LOWER MEKONG INITIATIVE FOURTH REGIONAL WORKING GROUP MEETING — Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (April 25-26, 2013)

On 25-26 April, 2013, senior representatives of the Lower Mekong Basin countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the United States gathered in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, for the Fourth Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).  Members of the six delegations reviewed progress on the LMI…

NEWS: Vietnam Joins ASEAN-US Dialogue

WASHINGTON D.C. - A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh attended the 26th ASEAN-US Dialogue in Washington on May 2-3, which focused on orientations and measures to promote the two sides’ cooperation.At the meeting, the two sides highly valued positive progress of the bilateral cooperation in different areas such as politics-security, economics,…

NEWS: U.S. to Boost Cooperation under Lower Mekong Initiative

The U.S. will give priority to promoting cooperation with the Lower Mekong basin through its continued efforts to boost the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), a US official said.U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Joseph Yun made the statement at a seminar that discussed measures to expand cooperation under the LMI framework…

NEWS: Lower Mekong Initiative Meeting Wraps Up

HO CHI MINH CITY - The fourth Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), co-hosted by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the US Department of State, concluded in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26.During the two-day event, participants agreed to strengthen links between LMI and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI)…