On 7 December 2020, Mr. Yang Xin, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand, and Dr. Kiattibhoom Vongrachit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health of the Kingdom of Thailand, signed in Bangkok the Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation on Projects of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund 2020 on Public Health Projects. In accordance with the agreement, China will support Thailand’s leading role in carrying out AIDS prevention and control work in the Lancang-Mekong Sub-region.
Since the establishment of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism in 2016, member countries have, with the support of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, undertaken over 400 people’s livelihood projects in such areas as public health and poverty alleviation. Facing the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early this year, the Lancang-Mekong countries have been lending helping hands to each other, and effectively brought the pandemic under control in the sub-region. Currently, the Lancang-Mekong countries, China and Thailand included, are exploring the way of carrying out information sharing and joint responses in major public health emergencies, committed to strengthening cooperation in early warning on communicable diseases, and making efforts to move public health projects forward. The level of Lancang-Mekong public health cooperation will be further enhanced and more and more people in the sub-region will be benefited.