Morocco, First Arab and African Partner of Mekong River Commission

Rabat – Morocco became on Thursday the first Arab and African partner of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), said the Moroccan embassy in Thailand.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in that respect, in Vientiane (Laos), by Morocco’s ambassador to Thailand, Abdelilah El Housni, and chief executive officer of the Mekong River Commission, Pham Tuan Phan, said the embassy in a statement.

It added that the partnership translates the vision of HM King Mohammed VI towards diversifying the cooperation at all levels to achieve a sustainable, active and solidarity-based development.

This partnership will foster exchanges and cooperation in water resource development and management through sharing of available technical expertise and lessons learned by both parties. Some of the common interests of both parties range from energy to agriculture and food security to water quality, the statement noted.

Driven by a shared interest in sustainable water resources development and management, the collaboration aims to ultimately promote and enhance public safety and community welfare by fostering research; promote, encourage, and advance safer, more economical, efficient, and environmentally-sound system for water resource development and management.

The Mekong River Commission is the only inter-governmental organisation that works directly with the governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam to jointly manage the shared water resources and the sustainable development of the Mekong River.

As a regional facilitating and advisory body governed by water and environment ministers of the four countries, the MRC ensures the efficient and mutually beneficial development of the Mekong River while minimising the potentially harmful effects on the people and the environment in the Lower Mekong Basin.