Joint Co-Chair Statement on the 3rd Mekong-U.S. Partnership Ministerial Meeting

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of Lao PDR and the United States of America as the Co-chairs of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP) on the occasion of the 3rd MUSP Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 27, 2024, in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

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1. We, the Co-chairs of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (“MUSP”) convened the 3rd MUSP Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 27, 2024, in Vientiane, Lao PDR, to affirm our commitment to the long-standing cooperative relationship between the Mekong countries and the United States, celebrating 15 years since the establishment of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) in 2009 and its expansion to the MUSP in 2020. The Partnership supports the ASEAN Community-building process and cooperation between the United States and ASEAN.
2. To deepen the strong friendship and successful collaboration between the Mekong countries and the United States, the Co-chairs reaffirm that the MUSP will further strengthen transparency and good governance; enhance connectivity, economic integration, and inclusive and sustainable development; and help narrow the development gap in the sub-region.
3. The MUSP notes synergies between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, both of which aim to promote an open, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture, in which ASEAN is central, and contribute to the maintenance and promotion of peace, security, and prosperity for people in the Indo-Pacific, including the Southeast Asian region and the Mekong sub-region. The MUSP seeks to uphold international law and advances shared principles, including ASEAN centrality, openness, sovereign equality, inclusivity, transparency, good governance and the rule of law, and a commitment to a rules-based approach in addressing challenges in the Mekong sub-region. The MUSP seeks to further promote complementarity with the regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms of ASEAN, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), the Mekong River Commission (MRC), and others.
4. Today, the MUSP member countries formally approved and adopted the MUSP Plan of Action 2024-2026. The MUSP Plan of Action reflects inputs from all MUSP member countries and views their respective efforts as integral to their engagement with ASEAN as a whole, as well as their respective approaches to the broader Indo-Pacific region.
5. As Co-chairs, we reaffirm the importance of aligning the efforts of the MUSP with those of other development partners, notably members of the Friends of the Mekong (FOM) to increase efficiency, ensure coordination, identify gaps, and explore opportunities for stronger collaboration in the future.
6. The United States has been a steadfast partner in the Mekong sub-region for decades. From 2009 to 2023, the U.S. government has provided over $5.8 billion in bilateral and regional assistance to the five Mekong-region partner countries under the LMI and the MUSP. Under the MUSP, the United States continues to support efforts to advance shared interests and priorities in the Mekong sub-region across our four areas of focus – economic connectivity, sustainable water and natural resources management, non-traditional security, and human resource development.
7. The Co-chairs reaffirmed the importance of cooperation through the MUSP in addressing transboundary challenges and opportunities to promote equitable, sustainable, and inclusive development of the Mekong sub-region.

Co-Chairs:

His Excellency Saleumxay Kommasith, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lao PDR

The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America