Webinar: Seminar on "Strengthening governance of transboundary rivers in Indo-Pacific"

On October 16, 2020, East-West Center (USA) organized an online seminar on "Strengthening the governance of transboundary rivers in the Indo-Pacific". The seminar was attended by officials, scholars and social organizations from the US, Japan, EU, Australia, Canada, South Korea, India and the Mekong countries. Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell attended and delivered a speech at the seminar.

The contents of the seminar focused on: (i) water security situation in the sub-region; (ii) collaborative sustainable management of water resources of the Mekong River; (iii) The Mekong-US partnership mechanism and powers competition issues and offer a number of recommendations.

At the seminar, delegates delivered the straight speech, shared experiences on water resources management in transboundary rivers in South Asia and Europe, contributed practical ideas to bringing benefits for enhanced governance of rivers, especially the Mekong River. Delegates emphasized that in order to well govern international rivers, riparian countries need to apply principles such as transparency, multiple components, rule-based.

The seminar took place in an exciting and open exchange atmosphere.