Dear colleagues, Good afternoon! 

I am very pleased to meet you at the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) of China to witness the launching of the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Information Sharing Platform! On behalf of my Ministry, I would like to extend my warm welcome to the ambassadors and other distinguished diplomats from the five Mekong countries to China, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and all colleagues attending this event! Thank you for your attention and support to the Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation! 

At the Third Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting held successfully on August 24 this year, leaders of the six member countries spoke highly of and fully affirmed the cooperation in the field of water resources.     With strong support of the foreign ministries of the six countries and the joint efforts of all colleagues from the water sector, Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation has entered a fast lane. The cooperation mechanism has been improved day by day, joint projects have been implemented one after another, information exchanges have been strengthened, personnel exchanges have become closer and more frequent, and capacities in water resources management and flood control and disaster mitigation have been further enhanced. This provides an important guarantee for water security in the river basin and sustainable socio-economic development of the six member countries. 

Affected by extreme climate change, the Lancang-Mekong river basin faces escalating challenges with increase in both frequency and intensity of floods and droughts. Drinking the water from the same river, the Lancang-Mekong countries are close as one family living in a community with a shared future. As the most upstream country, China has always given full consideration to the concerns of downstream countries, and made due contributions through practical actions to flood control and disaster mitigation and water security of downstream countries. Since November 1 this year, MWR has officially provided the Mekong countries with dry-season hydrological data of the Lancang River, which extends the period of information sharing from the flood season to the whole year. This is a major step taken by China that fully demonstrates China's goodwill and sincerity as a responsible upstream neighbour by taking full account of the needs of flood control and disaster mitigation in the Mekong countries.  

Dear colleagues, 

At the First Ministerial Meeting of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation held last year, I suggested further strengthening the sharing of water resources information, experience and capacity, and building an advanced, collaborative, efficient, open and transparent information sharing platform. This proposal was fully affirmed and supported by the leaders of the six countries, and included as a consensus on cooperation in the Vientiane Declaration of the Third Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting this year. Just two months ago, the Joint Working Group on Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation successfully signed the Letter of Intent on the Establishment of Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Information Sharing Platform. It will bring water resources information sharing among the six member countries to a new level.       

In order to make such information sharing better and earlier to the benefit of the peoples of all countries in the river basin, MWR acted immediately and built a platform website that enables access to relevant information in a more timely, convenient and accurate manner. By sharing its own relevant information, China hopes to provide a model and reference for the six member countries to jointly build the information sharing platform. Meanwhile, the fruitful results of Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation will also be systematically showcased as an evidence that we, the six member countries, are capable of doing a good job in water resources cooperation. In addition, more cases of cooperation and general knowledge of water resources will be shared to help people better understand our cooperation. The water ministries of the six member countries could fully use this website to accelerate the establishment of information sharing platform, so as to promptly realize the comprehensive sharing of data, information, knowledge, experience and technology in the field of water resources. This will provide decision-making basis and technical support for integrated water resource management, as well as its rational development, utilization and conservation of our region. 

Dear colleagues, 

As stated at the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefits, and push forward the establishment of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind. We, the six Lancang-Mekong countries, share the security and the destiny of each other. Only by sharing the opportunities, responsibilities, challenges and discussing strategies for river basin development can we achieve win-win cooperation. 

MWR of China is willing to continue cooperating with its counterparts of the other member countries, to implement the consensus of the Third LMC Leaders' Meeting, We will take the opportunity of jointly building the Lancang-Mekong Water Resources Cooperation Information Sharing Platform, and continue to follow the principles of joint contribution, extensive consultation, and shared benefits. We will give priority to development and conservation, conduct consultation on an equal footing, and remain pragmatic, efficient, open and inclusive. We will properly plan and implement targeted policies, to push Lancang-Mekong water resources cooperation to a new level. So as to inject more vitality into the sustainable socio-economic development of the LMC member countries, and make new and greater contributions to the building a community of shared future among Lancang-Mekong Countries. 

Thank you！