Mekong Connect in 2022 is themed “Actively improve the connectivity and integration for sustainable development”. The event took place on November 23rd and November 24th, at Muong Thanh Hotel, Can Tho city under the chairmanship of the Minister of Science and Technology, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Can Tho city as the host.

Organized since 2015 as an initiative of the ABCD (An Giang – Ben Tre – Can Tho – Đong Thap) Mekong regional connecting network, the event is supported by the Business Association of High-quality Vietnamese Products, leaders of the four localities and the Leading Business Club (LBC). The Mekong Connect 2022 Forum aims to find solutions to economic development, and linkages and integration of resources for sustainable development in the Mekong Delta region.

This year, the forum will focus on measures to improve the quality of linkages – integration; science, technology, and innovation; institutions and human resources for agricultural economic development, border economy, circular economy, development of sustainable material areas; and digital transformation in agriculture, etc.

Furthermore, in the framework of the event, a wide range of outstanding activities will be organized, including a start-up day and a green startup market; representatives of ABCD Mekong and HCM City will introduce the most important linkage project that is expected to be implemented in 2023; a discussion on “How to implement integrated and valuable linkage activities in practice”; analysis, exploitation and development of border economy and circular economy; development of sustainable material areas to meet the standards for domestic and international markets; digital transformation in agriculture; award certificates of high-quality Vietnamese products with integration standards for businesses; signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between localities and businesses.

President of Business Association of High-quality Vietnamese Products Vu Kim Hanh said: “Before the main event of Mekong Connect this year, we continuously organize seminars and conferences. Specifically, they are the discussion on “Breaking the circular economy mystery”, or a workshop on “Stabilize the quality, increase the value of agricultural products through compliance with standards”. At the above meetings, successful models in green economic development, circular economy, towards sustainable development were introduced. These are the models that businesses, farmers, and young start-ups of the Mekong Delta can learn to develop in the future. In fact, many businesses and corporations around the world have switched to using materials from paper and wood to replace plastic parts of their products. Besides, it is also a matter of standards and quality for the products of businesses in the Mekong Delta. If you want to go far and be accepted by the market, you need to have a “passport” that meets the standards to get better”.

Speaking at the press conference, Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Hong said: “The Mekong Delta is having great opportunities for change. Therefore, it is necessary to seize opportunities and cooperate with other localities for rapid but sustainable development. The brightest spot of the Mekong Delta in 2020-2021 is agriculture, with the region's agricultural and aquatic exports playing a key role in maintaining the trade surplus for the whole country. In the long term, economic growth and prosperity do not come from agriculture but from structural transformation to industry and services. Therefore, clearly identifying and gradually removing the bottlenecks hindering the industrial and service development of the Mekong Delta is a must for the development of this land”. This is cited in the research results in the Mekong Delta Annual Economic Report 2022 with the theme “Transformation of Development Model and Integrated Planning” and the master plan for the Mekong Delta in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 287/QD-TTg dated February 28th, 2022

This is a legal mechanism from the central government, capable of creating and promoting regional cooperation and linkage. This plan will comprehensively affect the economy of the Mekong Delta, especially for agricultural transformation, infrastructure system, and Logistics. To be able to implement new orientations of Integrated Planning, many prerequisite conditions are required. The most important is a fundamental change in development thinking and vision. Moreover, it is necessary to build a substantive and effective regional governance and linkage institution...

The agenda for discussions at Mekong Connect 2022 aims to create a new momentum and breakthrough for promoting post-pandemic economic development in Mekong Delta localities, said Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Can Tho Nguyen Van Hong.