The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

On August 2, Secretary Blinken co-hosted the second Mekong-U.S. Partnership ministerial.  The Secretary emphasized U.S. commitment to a resilient, secure, interconnected, and open Mekong sub-region and emphasized the region’s importance to the prosperity and unity of ASEAN. The Secretary unveiled the Mekong-U.S. Partnership’s four flagship projects, noted the 8.5 million vaccine doses and over $58 million in U.S. COVID-19 assistance to Mekong sub-region countries, and described how the United States government has provided $4.3 billion in foreign assistance to the sub-region since 2009.

The six Partnership countries discussed progress on improving COVID-19 response and health security; delivering sustainable infrastructure development including through the Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership; empowering human capital and building the foundations for a Mekong digital economy; promoting women’s economic empowerment; protecting the environment and sustainably managing water and other natural resources; and combating non-traditional security threats, including trafficking in persons, wildlife, timber, narcotics, and weapons. The Secretary highlighted that U.S. engagement with civil society across the sub-region is critical to accomplishing the goals of the Partnership.

Secretary Blinken urged the countries to take immediate action to hold the Burmese military regime accountable to the ASEAN five-point consensus.  He called for joint action to press the Burmese military regime to end the violence, release those unjustly detained, and restore Burma to the path to democracy.

For more information, please visit MekongUSPartnership.org and follow our Facebook page. 

U.S. Department of State

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