Mekong - U.S. Partnership
News: Lower Mekong Countries, U.S. Boost Cooperation
Five lower Mekong countries and the United States are taking steps to boost cooperation in key areas to drive development in the region with the U.S. pledging further support to help address challenges faced by the region.Around 100 delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the US met yesterday in Vientiane to discuss cooperation…
News: U.S. Meets with Lower Mekong Countries in Laos
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times) -- Five Lower Mekong countries and the United States are taking steps to boost cooperation in key areas to drive development in the region with the U.S. pledging further support to help address challenges faced by the region.Around 100 delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S. met yesterday in…
Remarks by Ambassador Clune at Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group
Landmark Hotel, VientianeVice Minister Bounkeut, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, and Ladies and Gentlemen:As you know, the Lower Mekong Initiative as created as a result of a meeting in 2009 between Secretary of State Clinton and the Foreign Ministers of the Lower Mekong countries as a vehicle for cooperation in facing shared challenges and opportunities in the…
The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Hosted the 6th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting
The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic hosted over 90 delegates from Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, the United States and the ASEAN Secretariat on March 20-21, 2014 for the 6th Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting.During the opening session, Vice Foreign Minister Bounkeut Sangsomsak and United States Ambassador Daniel Clune discussed the…
Young Leaders from LMI Countries Visiting the U.S. Department of State
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Evan Ryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Stevenson and Lower Mekong Initiative Lead Officer Matt Yarrington met with a group of 17 young political leaders from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam at the start of their program at…
Newsletter to Promote Grassroots Equity in the Lower Mekong Forests
USAID's Grassroots Equity and Enhanced Networks in the Mekong Program recently released the second issue of its bi-annual newsletter that showcases news and views on social equity in forest-based climate change mitigation policy and highlights equity resources from the region and beyond.The most recent issue shares updates on ongoing and upcoming program activities such as…
Mobile Malaria Workers Drive Down Cases in Rural Myanmar
People in the remote village of War Taw in southern Myanmar often do battle with malaria. Here, villagers earn their living working in and around forests that harbor malaria-carrying mosquitoes, but health services are scarce and far away.Villagers who contracted serious illnesses like malaria and needed professional health care often had to travel across the…
Myanmar Officials Prepare for ASEAN Chairmanship in Washington, D.C.
In mid-December, USAID and the U.S. Department of State welcomed a delegation of ten senior officials from Myanmar to Washington, D.C. to discuss Myanmar's ASEAN chairmanship in 2014.Over the three days, the delegation had a number of fruitful meetings with officials from the U.S. Department of State, USAID, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of…
Myanmar Legal Changes for National Single Window is on the Way
In response to Myanmar Custom’s request to USAID to identify legal gaps in domestic laws, in November 2013 Prof. William J. Luddy, a world-renowned legal expert for trade facilitation, conducted a comprehensive legal gap analysis to identify potential barriers to the eventual operation of Myanmar’s National Single Window (NSW) and the interoperability between the Myanmar…
Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI)
Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), launched in 2009, is a multinational partnership among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States to create integrated sub-regional cooperation among the five Lower Mekong countries. LMI serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy challenges in the Lower Mekong sub-region. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjLLkc3o6Uw
Myanmar Commercial Law Ready to be Improved to Support Sustained Economic Growth
The Attorney General, the Union of Myanmar, emphasized the importance of commercial law development for Myanmar’s development plans at the opening of the commercial law development workshop hosted by USAID on commercial law development.Conducted on November 20-21, the workshop demonstrated how commercial law leads to inclusive and sustained economic growth. By the end of the…
USAID Supports Small and Medium Enterprise Growth in Lower Mekong Countries
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for over 95% of all business in ASEAN and over 50% of employment in the region. Their contribution to GDP is generally significant, about 30-53 percent. Moreover, they are a key entry point into the formal economy for women and youth. ASEAN Connectivity through Trade and Investment Project is…
