Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC)

The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), established in the year 2000, focusses on expanding cooperation between India and five countries of the Mekong region, viz. 

• Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand

The key areas of cooperation under MGC are tourism, culture, education, and transport & communications, which aim to strengthen the ties between the peoples of the two regions. 

History:-

• The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR, for cooperation in tourism, culture, education, as well as transport and communications. 
• Both the Ganga and the Mekong are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins. 
• The MGC is also indicative of the civilizational, cultural and commercial linkages among the member countries of the MGC down the centuries. 

Efforts are also underway to widen collaboration between MGC countries in SMEs, conservation of rice germplasm, health and pandemic management, establishment of a Common Archival Resource Centre at Nalanda University and through Quick Impact Projects. 

• The most visible manifestation of MGC is the MGC Museum of Traditional Asian Textiles at Siem Reap, Cambodia, established with Indian assistance in April 2014. 

The Ministry of External Affairs has, through the ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund, granted six scholarships to students from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to pursue a Masters degree at Nalanda University. 

• Selected students are eligible for waiver of full fees, including tuition fees, boarding, lodging and travel fare, for the period of study. 
• A total of 4 students (2 from Laos, 2 from Myanmar and none from Cambodia) are currently studying at Nalanda University under this scholarship.

Mekong River:-

The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's 12th-longest river. 

• From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through China's Yunnan province,Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. 
• In 1995, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission to assist in the management and coordinated use of the Mekong's resources. 
• In 1996 China and Myanmar became "dialogue partners" of the MRC and the six countries now work together within a cooperative framework.

The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. 

Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia.

Courtesy:-

• PIB
• and other websites