Chhorng Long Heng: Mekong River commission officially opens permanent office in Phnom Penh

Mekong River Commission Secretariat officially opens permanent office in Phnom Penh




The Mekong River Commission secretariat on August 26 officially opened permanent and arm office in Phnom Penh after long discussion among the members of countries, and other stakeholders in a move to facilitate the management of the various programs related the river.

“This secretariat is the operational arm of the MRC and responsible for implementing MRC decisions on cooperation for the sustainable management and development of the Mekong River Basin,”H.E. Lim Kean Hor, minister of water resources and meteorology, member of the MRC council of Cambodia and Chairman of Cambodian National Mekong Committee said in the ceremony of opening the permanent office of MRC in Phnom Penh.



“We mark this major formative step in the life of the Mekong River Commission secretariat. The journey to get here today, to the agreement on a permanent co-hosted solution to the location of the MRC, has been a long one,” he noted.

“I am confident that decision to locate it in two capitals cities, Phnom Penh of Cambodia and Vientiane of Lao PRD on the banks of the Mekong is a good one,” he said, adding that both cities and countries will benefit from hosting such an important inter-governmental organization. He highlighted that and all four member countries benefit from the capacity building benefits that the organization brings to the region to help us build our own national expertise. In this respect the needs of Cambodia and Lao PRD are proportionately more than other countries and we look forward to working closely with MRC to narrow the gap.



“The real beneficiaries of MRC’s work will be every people who gain from better management of the Mekong’s impressive water resources, those people living in the basin that depend on it for their livelihoods,” He stresses. By establishing permanent seats for MRC’s various programs in both Phnom Penh and Vientiane, we have moved on from the previous 5-yearly rotation of the headquarters, which in this day and age is seen to be inefficient and disruptive.



“Hence, with an approach that embraces modern technology, we hope that the co-hosting arrangement will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness for the MRC in the long term, he said, adding that The cross-cutting nature of the MRC’s work and its ability to take an integrated and sustainable approach to water resources development remains a key priority, although it is also important to recognize that some of the MRC’s work has strong geographical linkages.



He added that although floods do occur upstream in both the Mekong mainstream and it tributary rivers, Cambodia and the Mekong delta in Vietnam are historically more likely to face regular annual flooding than the northern part of the basin, which is why the MRC located its regional flood management and mitigation center in Phnom Penh several years ago.

Similarly, the proportion of people that rely on the vast Mekong Fishery for their main source of protein is higher in the southern part of the basin, than further north, hence the MRC’s fisheries programs has joined the flood management and mitigation program in Phnom Penh.

“The agriculture and irrigation program, drought management program, information and knowledge management program and navigation program have already relocated to Phnom Penh or will have completed their move by the end of this year,” He emphasized.



He added that that The office of the chide executive officer and heads of corporate services sections, together with director of two divisions will remain in the office of secretariat in Vientiane along with other programs that are related to long term basin –wide planning, such as the basin development plan program, the Mekong integrated water resources management project, the initiative on sustainable hydropower, the environment program and climate change adaptation initiative. Now, that question of the location of the MRC has been decided, the organization can concentrate wholly on the key development opportunities and challenges facing basin.



“The decision on the location of any international organization can be politically sensitive, he stresses. “But this decision-which we commemorate today with this official opening means that Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam-the four countries of the MRC will be a stronger position to implement the 1995 Mekong Agreement, he added. It means better joint management of the shared water resources of the basin, and inevitably –increased prosperity through sustainable development of the economic potential of the river while protecting its vital environment resources.



He noted in 2008, we opened the regional flood management and mitigation center here and see now the benefits of other programs joining it under the umbrella of the office of the secretariat in Phnom Penh. On behalf of the government of Cambodia as the host country, we are committed with our readiness to help facilitate towards the smooth operation of the office of the secretariat in Phnom Penh.





Mr.Jeremy Bird, Chief Executive Officer of The Mekong River Commission Secretariat said that one year after the signing of 1995 Mekong agreement, the MRC council agreed that the secretariat was to be moved between Phnom Penh and Vientiane every five years. Although this original co-hosting agreement was designed to try and balance the role of Cambodia and Lao PDR-that together make up the majority of the land area in the lower basin- it was a compromise in the absence of consensus on the location of secretariat between the two candidates cities.

“Let me first express my gratitude to the government of Cambodia and the Cambodian national Mekong Committee secretariat for graciously hosting this important event, for hosting the office of the MRC secretariats here as well as for their long term commitment to institutional and logistical support the MRC,” He said.



“The MRC secretariat now officially has two permanent offices, one in Vientiane and the other here at these premises-formerly the home of the MRC’s existing regional flood management and mitigation center built with the assistance of the government of Japan which remains a key part of the office of secretariat in Phnom Penh, Bird said, adding that so I am pleased to celebrate the end of this long process and at the same time we are planning a new ear for the organization in implementing the Hua Hin Declaration agreed at the first MRC Summit.

“I trust that you will continue to render your assistance and support to the MRC as we strengthen the organization and keep their spirit of the 1995 Mekong Agreement alive,” Bird added.



Mr.Bird noted that the MRC has been very fortunate to have received significant support from development partners throughout this process and over past years in general. With the opening of this Phnom Penh Office we can now look forward to focusing fully on the serious and important work of helping the people of the Mekong Basin to cope with the pressing challenges ahead, and in developing methods and systems to address them.



Besides political dimension, all member countries were anxious that this was a decision based on careful consideration of the linkages between programs and geographical areas and its inter-programs synergies. “it was decision that ensured the MRC will be able to fulfill its mandate most efficiently, effectively and in the best interests of a board range of stakeholders-not just those that work with and in the secretariat, but development partners, our dialogue partners, government line ministries and of course those that rely on the river system for their live livelihood and day –to-day survival,” he stresses.



“I also wish to thank member countries and dialogue partners for their support. I am pleased that so many representatives are present today to mark the fulfillment of article 29 of the 1995 Mekong Agreement in relation to our permanent locations,” Bird said, adding that indeed, it took November last year for a final decision to be made by the governments of the four member committees, Cambodia, Lao PRD, Thailand, and Vietnam. As to just how the permanent solution for location of MRC was to take shape. Secretariat moved from its previous headquarters in Bangkok on the days of the interim Mekong Committee to Phnom Penh in 1998 and first “rotating” move from Phnom Penh to Vientiane took place in 2004.



Khy Lim, communication officer for MRC told the SEAW that if there was relocation, meaning complete move to Phnom Penh, it would cost the MRC around one million for building and extra expenses for human resource, shipment, equipment and other costs.

The cost could be more than one million US dollar,” he added.



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