KPL
In a major step to strengthen regional cooperation on water security, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen collaboration on water resource management, climate resilience, and sustainable development across the Mekong region.
The new partnership brings together the MRC’s basin-wide expertise and Singapore’s advanced capabilities in technology, innovation, and urban water management. This opens a new chapter of practical cooperation at a time when the Mekong region is facing growing pressures from climate change, extreme weather variability, and increasing demand for water resources.
“While Singapore is not a riparian state, it has an interest in developments in the region. From shifting weather patterns and changes in crop yields to environmental challenges and transnational crime, developments in the Mekong River Basin can easily affect other parts of the region and the world,” said Ong Siew Gay, Singapore Ambassador to the Lao PDR.
He added “Singapore hopes to be able to make a modest but meaningful contribution. As the world goes through disruptive change, and fragmentation and geopolitical contestation accelerates, regional countries and external partners will have no choice but to double down on greater international cooperation.”
The agreement provides a flexible framework for cooperation over an initial period of five years, allowing both sides to jointly develop and implement activities aligned with the priorities of the current MRC Strategic Plan 2026–2030, particularly in strengthening resilience to climate risks such as floods and droughts.
“The MRC welcomes the MoU with Singapore as it recognises the immense value and importance of building shared prosperity through regional cooperation with non-riparian Member States. The challenges that we face today in the Mekong River are transboundary, which require multi-faceted approaches and solutions,” said Ms Busadee Santipitaks, Chief Executive Officer of the MRC Secretariat.
She emphasised that this partnership reflects a broader and shared understanding that the future of the Mekong is not shaped by riparian countries alone. Singapore’s experience and technical strengths will bring fresh perspectives that can help us tackle shared challenges and build more resilient water systems for the future.
Singapore’s collaboration with MRC members is well-established; it has trained more than 57,000 officials from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam under the Singapore Cooperation Programme. Singapore also has ongoing collaborations with various MRC member countries on the sustainability agenda. It is currently importing hydropower from Laos through the Lao PDR–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project, a pathfinder for the ASEAN Power Grid.
Additionally, Singapore has carbon credit cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement with all four MRC members, having signed Implementation Agreements (IAs) with Thailand and Vietnam, and MoUs with Cambodia and Laos. The recent opening of the project application process under the Thailand–Singapore IA marks a concrete step towards translating these agreements into tangible impact.
