Aid and development

Among the many “days” celebrated by the international community, one entrant seems especially incongruous. “Mekong Day” was proclaimed by the Mekong River Commission’s (MRC) headquarters in Vientiane to celebrate the signature of the “Agreement on the Cooperation and Sustainable Development of the Mekong River”, which took place ...

China has committed to many regional development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and the LMC with the Mekong-Lancang countries. Thong Mengdavid, a research associate of the Mekong Center for Strategic Studies at the Asian Vision Institute, a think tank in Phnom Penh, told China Daily that ...

Installing vessel monitoring systems (VMS) is one of the important measures the European Commission (EC) recommended for Vietnam to remove the EC’s “yellow card” warning against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The Directorate of Fisheries has certified eight VMSs that meet the standards stipulated in the Government’s Decree No. ...

Earth’s climate is changing, and one of the main impacts is on the water cycle. For example, there is an elevated risk of more frequent and intense flooding and droughts. Also, the amount of water flowing in individual streams and rivers is changing, and those ...

The Japanese government has provided more than $800,000 in funding to two Japanese NGOs, under its grant assistance framework. The NGOs are engaged in raising awareness of environment issues and eliminating violence against children in schools. The grant contract was signed on March 12 by Japanese ...

A United Nations envoy has called for Thailand’s support to prevent an escalation of the crisis in neighbouring Myanmar and welcomed assurances that refugees fleeing Myanmar military operations would be protected by the Thai government. Noeleen Heyzer, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy on Myanmar, made the ...

Despite the economic downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic, China-sponsored infrastructure, trade and cooperation initiatives with Southeast Asian nations have been moving forward consistently — amplifying the presence of Beijing in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. One recent landmark event was the inauguration of the ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will start a visit to Myanmar on Friday (Jan 7) for talks with its military rulers, triggering protests across the conflict-torn nation by coup opponents who fear that his trip will provide more legitimacy to the junta. His visit will be the first ...

There are many driving forces for growth for Vietnam in 2022, and the growth target of 6.0 – 6.5 percent for 2022 is quite feasible, according to foreign economists. In an interview recently granted to the Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review), lead specialist and group head ...

Urban poverty is on course to triple in Myanmar, pushing nearly half the population below the poverty line next year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as the twin impact of the pandemic and a military coup threaten progress made in the past decade. The army ...