Korea, Mekong states adopt water cooperation declaration at Seoul forum

South Korea and five Mekong countries adopted a joint declaration on water cooperation at a forum in Seoul on Thursday, the environment ministry said, setting digital water management, climate resilience and nature-based solutions, and integrated water management as the priority areas for joint work.

The fourth Korea-Mekong International Water Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, was held at the Westin Josun Seoul in Jung-gu. About 200 people attended, including government delegations from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and their ambassadors to Korea, along with representatives of the Asian Development Bank, the Global Green Growth Institute, the Green Climate Fund, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, the Mekong River Commission, the World Water Council and Korean water companies.

Kim Han-seung, the ministry's first vice minister, said the cooperation pursued through the forum had advanced a step further with the adoption of the declaration. "Going forward, we will develop the cooperation directions contained in this joint declaration into concrete projects and continue to expand Korea-Mekong water cooperation so that it leads to practical results," he said.

Follow-up work will run through the Korea-Mekong Water Management Center, or KOMEC, which will keep identifying water management needs in the Mekong region and connect Korean water companies and related institutions to turn those needs into joint projects. The forum was first held in Seoul in October 2022, followed by Incheon in September 2023 and Daejeon in March 2025.