On Wednesday, Denmark signed an agreement worth an overall nine million USD to the Mekong River Commission. With this grant, Denmark provides 45 million DKK (7.5 million USD) to the commission’s so-called Basin Development Plan Phase 2 (BDP2), covering approx. 72 pct. of the programme’s overall budget. The grant also provides 7.5 million DKK (1.25 million USD) to the commission’s Environment Programme. The agreement runs from 2006-2010.
“The Mekong River basin is a resource of great importance to the livelihoods of millions of poor people in the region. It is vital that this resource is protected and its sustainable development carefully planned to allow it to continue to generate benefits to all the people in the basin, not least the poor. The Mekong River Commission has a key role to play in safeguarding the river’s sustainable development. Denmark is pleased to support the commission and its member countries in these efforts,” Denmark’s ambassador to Vietnam, Peter Lysholt Hansen, said at the signing ceremony in Vientiane.
Denmark is currently the largest donor to the Mekong River Commission with active grants to four of the organization’s major programmes, including the BDP2, the Environment Programme, the Fisheries Programme, and the Flood Management and Mitigation Programme.
If you want to read more about Denmark’s development activities in Vietnam, go to the official website of the Danish Embassy in Hanoi: www.ambhanoi.um.dk
