1st Mekong Forum

THE FIRST MEKONG FORUM

“THE GEOPOLITICAL ROLE OF THE MEKONG SUB-REGION, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR MEKONG COUNTRIES; ISSUES FOR COOPERATION AMONG MEKONG COUNTRIES IN THE COMING TIME”.

The forum was moderated by Dr. Le Dinh Tinh, Director of the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, and the keynote speakers were Thai researcher Kavi Chongkittavorn, Ms. Hoang Thi Ha from ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and Prof. Richard Heydarian from Polytechnic University of the Philippines and many other experts on Mekong issues from domestic and overseas research institutes, relevant departments, ministries and branches.

The Mekong Forum is considered by the participants as an urgent and timely activity for stakeholders to share their views and evaluations and delve into the issues, thereby making policy recommendations for the Mekong sub-region nations. This is also the first Mekong forum to be organized by the Institute for Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies, under the DAV. At the forum, the speakers deeply analyzed the changing geopolitical landscape in the Mekong River and its impact on sub-region countries. The discussion received a variety of questions from guests, mainly from domestic research institutions and former Vietnamese Ambassadors to the US and Myanmar. Most of the questions further clarified the prospects of the geopolitical landscape in the Mekong sub-region and the policy implications for the sub-region countries.