National Mekong Committee Secretariats critical in the implementation of local technical pilots of
Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus applications
On 10 June 2022, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Regional Office for Asia-Pacific and the Cambodia National Mekong Committee Secretariat (CNMCS) met online to discuss Cambodia’s expectations on the project and brief them on the project progress. Cambodia is one of the four Lower Mekong Basin countries participating in the project funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of the Republic of Korea. The three other countries are Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The CNMCS delegation was led by H.E Mr. So Sophort, Secretary-General of the CNMCS. Mr. Sophort is also the Chair of the MRC Joint Committee and member of P-LINK Steering Committee for 2022.
CNMCS and UNOSSC staff during the conference call
The Secretary-General suggested that the NMCs will coordinate project activities in each country. The National Mekong Committee Secretariats (NMCs) will mobilise support from line ministries and other relevant stakeholders to implement national pilot. The CNMCS delegation stressed the importance of providing capacity building and technical assistance to national stakeholders including exchange visits, study tours and training on specific technical tools.
The Project Management Team briefed the CNMCS on the outcomes of its bilateral consultative meetings with Thailand and Viet Nam. The briefing was much appreciated by the CNMCS participants as answers to questions raised by Thailand and Viet Nam largely answered their own questions.
The CNMCS delegation emphasized the need to elaborate on the responsibilities of the National Committees and the implementation structures at the national level. The Project Management Team agreed to prepare the requested documents.
The Secretary-General confirmed that Cambodia will participate in the First Consultative Stakeholder Forum to take place on 28 June 2022 and observed that discussions within country delegates would be important for pilot selection.
About the RoK-UNOSSC Facility Phase 3
The “Triangular Cooperation Project on Sustainable Development in the Lower Mekong River Basin based on the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus” (2021-2025) aims to strengthen access to water, food and energy for vulnerable communities living in the Lower Mekong Basin (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Viet Nam) through strengthening development approaches and management in these sectors. It will take integrative and multi-sectoral approaches in application of highly demanded technologies on water, energy and food to improve the livelihoods of the people based on South-South and triangular cooperation modalities. The 5-year project is supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea, and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) leads the project in partnership with other institutions including the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS), Mekong Institute (MI) and the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) and will enlist the help of other UN Agencies.