NEWS: Investors Deem PPP Format Still Risky

HO CHI MINH CITY – Investors think they will face more risks from the public-private partnership (PPP) format in Vietnam than in other countries, said Bill Magennis, lawyer at Allens Pte Ltd.Therefore, Vietnam should minimize the risks to investors through law amendments, said Magennis at a workshop on PPP held in HCMC on Thursday.The lawyer…

NEWS: U.S. Offers US$53 Million for Lower Mekong Projects

HO CHI MINH CITY - This was informed on Thursday at the 4th Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) held by LMI and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in HCMC. LMI was formed in 2009 on the initiative of the U.S. with six members including the U.S. and five countries in…

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)…

NEWS: Mekong Countries Promote Sustainability

HO CHI MINH CITY - A prosperous and environmentally sustainable Mekong region will help build a strong and united ASEAN and contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia and the world.The statement was made by Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at a meeting of the Lower Mekong countries held in HCM…

NEWS: Lower Mekong Initiative Regional Working Group Meeting opens

HO CHI MINH CITY – The fourth Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Regional Working Group Meeting opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday attracting the participation of nearly 100 delegates.The two-day meeting aims to review the implementation of activities that had been agreed at the previous meeting, discuss initiatives, new cooperative opportunities, and examine preparations…

NEWS: Lower Mekong Initiative’s Meeting Kicks Off

HO CHI MINH CITY - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State jointly hosted the fourth Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) in Ho Chi Minh City on April 25.As many as 90 officials from the US, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam attended the event.The meeting…

Climate Study Resources at the Final Results Workshop

On March 28-29, 2013, the USAID Mekong ARCC Program, in coordination with Thailand's Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), convened the Final Results Workshop for the Mekong ARCC's "Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Study for the Lower Mekong Basin" in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 120 expert participants from Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam,…

Vietnam Hosts First National Wildlife Heroes Awards

HANOI - On April 22nd, the Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking Program partner, Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), hosted Vietnam’s first national awards ceremony to honor five excellent individuals for their outstanding contributions to wildlife protection.  The Outstanding Service in Wildlife Protection Awards Ceremony recognized three law enforcement officials and two journalists for…

NEWS: Mekong Greatly Challenged by Climate Change

A new study on Climate Change Impact and Adaptation in the Lower Mekong Basin has revealed that the effects of climate change in the basin are worse than the global average.Final results of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded study, that were released recently at a regional workshop in Bangkok, indicate that changes…

Joint Statement of LMI Third Regional Working Group Meeting: Phuket, Thailand (Sept 27-28, 2012)

On 27-28 September 2012, senior representatives of the Lower Mekong Basin countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the United States gathered in Phuket, Thailand, for the Third Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).  Members of the six delegations reviewed progress on the LMI Plan of Action and…

NEWS: Mekong Region Facing Six Degree-Warming, Climate Extremes

BANGKOK - Temperatures in South-East Asia's Lower Mekong Basin are set to rise by up to three times the global average temperature increase, according to a USAID-funded study.Previous reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the basin would see increases in line with the global average of around two degrees Celsius.But according…

PRESS RELEASE: Lower Mekong Initiative Convenes Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange

HANOI - The U.S. Departments of State and Commerce and Vietnam Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport in collaboration with the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council hosted a Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange in Hanoi on January 14-15, 2013. The LMI Infrastructure Best Practices Exchange brought together senior U.S. and regional government officials and…