Representatives of the organizers unveil the theme poster for the 2024 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award in Beijing on April 24, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of China International Communications Group

The 2024 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award, an international event involving the six Lancang-Mekong countries (China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), was launched in Beijing on Wednesday. Experts expect the event to inject new artistic energy into the Lancang-Mekong region and create a brighter future for Lancang-Mekong cooperation (LMC).

In his video keynote speech, Zhao Chenggang, minister counsellor of the Asian Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said that China and Mekong countries are connected by mountains and rivers and are natural partners for cultural exchanges.

Over the past eight years since the initiation of a sub-regional cooperation mechanism among the Lancang-Mekong countries and under the strategic guidance of their leaders, efforts in building a community with a shared future for LMC has continued to deepen and consolidate. LMC has also witnessed fruitful results, Zhao pointed out.

He highlighted the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award, which has become a business card for cultural and youth exchanges, as an example, noting that he expects the competition will further enhance people-to-people exchanges between the six countries and improve mutual learning among civilizations.

Neak Chandarith, director of the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia and one of the representatives of the competition organizers, said in a video speech during the launch ceremony that LMC is a testament to the joint efforts of the Lancang-Mekong countries. The competition for this year has highlighted cooperation in the energy sector while expanding into new fields of humanities and art exchanges.

With the theme "Green Power, Lancang-Mekong's New Day," designers participating in the competition feature various aspects of Lancang-Mekong energy cooperation in their design creativity. Their works will showcase cooperation in domains such as energy security, energy infrastructure projects, renewable energy, grid modernization, the photovoltaics industry and energy storage. The competition will last until November.

The LMC mechanism is a new sub-regional cooperation jointly initiated by the Lancang-Mekong countries.

Since 2020, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Art & Design Award has been held regularly, functioning as a bridge of art that closely connects the Lancang-Mekong countries.