Mekong - Lancang Cooperation (MLC) should take innovation and science and technology as the center, with a focus on supporting fundamental industries, gradually shifting from processing and assembly to researching, designing and manufacturing, and applying new technology to industrial and agricultural production, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said.

Countries should also promote digital transformation via cooperation in digital infrastructure, digital human resources, digital security and digital economy, he said in an address to the fourth MLC Leaders’ Meeting held via videoconference on December 25.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Ministers and heads of delegations from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, China, and Vietnam.

He also proposed encouraging the participation of development partners and the business community and strengthening cooperation in infrastructure, particularly in express railway connections, and to consider a mechanism for making payments in their national currencies.

This is one of three priorities he recommended for the MLC in the future in the face of rapid and profound changes in the global economy.

Prime Minister Chinh also suggested that countries develop a green, sustainable, and inclusive Mekong - Lancang region that ensures harmony between the present and the future as well as between economic growth and environmental protection.

MLC countries should also build a Mekong - Lancang region of peace and cooperation, he said, adding that the six countries should continually strengthen their mutual trust, sincerity, solidarity, and consensus, promote common interests, and uphold multilateralism.

He also stressed that the MLC has become an important mechanism connecting the Mekong countries and China, and also a model of working together for common development and win-win cooperation.