At the official invitation of Mr. Wang Yi, Member of Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Co-Chair of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC), U Than Swe, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs attended the 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which was held on 15 August 2025 in Anning, Yunnan Province, China.

 

The 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China and Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and also attended by the Heads of Delegations of the MLC member countries, Mr. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Mr. Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.

 

The 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held under the theme of “Golden Decade: Staying Committed to Building a Better Community through Solidarity.” During the meeting, the Ministers cordially discussed and exchanged views on the progress and future direction of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation.

 

The Union Minister for Foreign Affairs updated the Myanmar’s cooperation efforts in the MLC to the Heads of Delegations of MLC member countries. In his discussion, he also suggested enhancing cooperation in the areas of economic development, agriculture, energy security, combating transnational crimes, water resource cooperation, climate change and disaster management, and people-to-people exchanges for the future course of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation.

 

Then, the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs participated in the “China—Lao PDR—Myanmar–Thailand Discussion,” which was held on the sidelines of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, together with the Foreign Ministers of China, Lao PDR, and Thailand.

 

During the Discussion, the Foreign Ministers cordially exchanged views on closer collaboration for the maintenance of security, prevalence of peace and stability along the border areas and combatting cross-border illicit trade, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, online scams, and transnational crimes.

 

The Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe updated the recent developments including the preparations for the upcoming election in Myanmar. The foreign Ministers of China, Lao PDR, and Thailand expressed their support for the holding of the election in December 2025 and the political developments in Myanmar.

 

Mr. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China hosted a welcome dinner on the evening of 14 August 2025 at the Anning Hot Spring Hotel in honour of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and delegations to the 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

 

The Mekong–Lancang Cooperation (MLC) is the regional cooperation mechanism established in 2016 to further strengthen the socio-economic development of the region. Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam are the members of the MLC. The MLC Special Fund has provided a total of 38.6 million USD for the implementation of 132 projects in Myanmar to date, in support of the Myanmar National Comprehensive Sustainable Development Strategy.

During the visit to Anning, China to attend 10th Mekong-Lanceng Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meeting, U Than Swe, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar met with Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand at 1500 hours on 14 August 2025 and Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China at 1720 hours on the same day, respectively.

 

At the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, both sides updated the recent developments in respective countries and exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in border affairs.

 

During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, the two sides discussed matters relating to bilateral relations and cooperation. The Union Minister also apprised his Chinese counterpart of the preparations for the upcoming election in Myanmar. In response, the Chinese Foreign Minister expressed China’s full support for the holding of the election and for political developments in Myanmar.

U Hau Khan Sum, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received Mr. Michael Dunford, the United Nations Resident/ Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. in Myanmar and Resident Representative of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), at 1100 hrs on 14 August 2025, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the meeting, they exchanged views on matters related to the existing cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations agencies.

 

Also present at the meeting were senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

U Than Swe, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, received Mr. Iori KATO, Regional Director for International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw on 11 August 2025 at 1600 hours.

 

During the meeting, they discussed and exchanged views on the matters relating to the support of the IOM to the migrant workers from Myanmar, IOM’s current work programmes in Myanmar, the cooperation between the Government of Myanmar and the IOM and the provision of relief items to people affected by the earthquake in Myanmar.

 

Also present at the meeting were the senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Daihei Mochizuki, Chief of Mission of IOM in Myanmar and Mr. Christos Dorian, Senior Programme Manager, Labour Migration and Migrants protection from IOM office in Myanmar.

The signing ceremony of the Agreement of Cooperation on Projects of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund (2025) was held on the morning of 5th August 2025 at the PARKROYAL Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw.

 

Union Minister for Transport and Communications H.E. U Mya Tun Oo, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. U Than Swe, Union Minister for Legal Affairs and Union Attorney General H.E. Dr. Thida Oo, Union Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture H.E. U Tin Oo Lwin, Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation H.E. U Min Naung, Union Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation H.E. U Khin Maung Yi, Union Minister for Industry H.E. Dr. Charlie Than, Union Minister for Education H.E. Dr. Chaw Chaw Sein, Union Minister for Science and Technology H.E. Dr. Myo Thein Kyaw, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement H.E. Dr. Soe Win, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Myanmar H.E Ms. Ma Jia, Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs H.E. U Ko Ko Kyaw and H.E. U Naing Min Kyaw and senior officials from concerned ministries were present at the ceremony.

 

At the ceremony, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe delivered the opening remarks in which he commended that the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation is the one of the most successful mechanisms among other Mekong related mechanisms and provided 984 projects across the member countries in 9-year journey, directly benefitting the people of the Mekong River Basin. He expressed his appreciation to the People’s Republic of China for their generosity through Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund.

 

He appreciated the People’s Republic of China for providing 38.3 Million USD to Myanmar under the MLC mechanism since 2017 and today’s ceremony has formalized the transfer of approximately 3.3 million USD from China to Myanmar. He also appreciated China for its 1.1 billion Yuan of Emergency Assistance for the Mandalay’s earthquake effected areas and recovery plan.

 

Ms. Ma Jia, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Myanmar, also delivered the remarks. In her remarks, the Ambassador noted that the MLC demonstrates the common goal of all member countries to remain good neighbors and reliable partners. She mentioned that Myanmar has received 132 projects through the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund since 2018, the highest among Mekong countries. She added that the 14 new projects signed today will continue to help development in multiple fields of Myanmar. In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Myanmar, she expressed China’s commitment to working closely with Myanmar in implementing Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, with a view to fostering a China-Myanmar community with a shared future for mutual benefit.

 

Afterwards, the Agreement on the Transfer of Funds for MLC Special Fund (2025) Projects for Myanmar was signed and exchanged by U Ko Ko Kyaw, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and Ms. Ma Jia, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China.

 

In accordance with the Agreement the (14) projects will be implemented in Myanmar by (9) Ministries in the fields of agricultural technology, science and technology, cultural exchange, legal cooperation, environmental cooperation, disaster management and commercial navigation.

 

The Mekong-Lancang Cooperation was initiated by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the 17th ASEAN-China Summit held in Myanmar in 2014 to foster cooperation to reduce development gap and attain sustainable development in the Mekong region. Mekong-Lancang Cooperation was officially launched in 2016 among six Mekong-Lancang countries comprising Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

H.E. U Ko Ko Kyaw, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, held a discussion via teleconference on 4 August 2025 with H.E. Mr. Iván Lara Palacios, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua, to discuss ways and means to further enhance bilateral relations between Myanmar and Nicaragua.

 

During the conversation, they reviewed the existing friendly relations between Myanmar and Nicaragua which will soon reach to the 5th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. They cordially exchanged views on further strengthening of cooperation in the areas of mutual interests.

Mr. Yasumasa Kimura, Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Myanmar, paid a courtesy call and presented his Credentials to U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw on 30 July 2025 at 1400 hours.

 

Also present at the call were the senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ceremony to exchange Letter for Extension of Agreement between Myanmar and India regarding implementation of Quick Impact Projects and to sign thirty six Myanmar-India Boundary Strip Maps at the Plenipotentiary Level was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw today at 11 00 hrs.

 

At the ceremony in the presence of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. U Lwin Oo, the Letter for extension of Agreement regarding Indian Grant Assistance for implementation of Quick Impact Projects was exchanged by H.E. Dr. Wah Wah Maung, Deputy Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations of Myanmar and H.E. Mr. Abhay Thakur, Ambassador of India to Myanmar. With the extension of this Agreement, India will continue to provide grant assistance to Myanmar under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative signed on 27th February 2020.

 

Next, in the presence of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. U Ko Ko Kyaw, thirty six Myanmar-India Boundary Strip Maps were signed by H.E. U Hau Khan Sum, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and H.E. Mr. Abhay Thakur, Ambassador of India to Myanmar on behalf of the respective governments. The signing of these Maps will enhance the effective and coordinated management of Myanmar-India boundary, while further strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. U Than Swe received Ambassador of Pakistan to Myanmar H.E. Mr. Imran Haider, who is leaving Myanmar after completion of his tour of duty, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw in the evening of 29 July 2025.

 

During the farewell call, they reviewed the existing friendly relations between Myanmar and Pakistan and exchanged views on further strengthening cooperation in the areas of mutual interests including culture, capacity building and tourism.