In the heart of Vientiane, Laos opened the doors to an urgent dialogue—one that crackled with the stakes higher than an overloaded dam. The “2nd Asean-MRC Water Security Dialogue” saw officials from Asean member states, Mekong River nations, and development partners converge to tackle the elephant in the room: water security in the face of relentless floods. Saleumxay Kommasith, Laos’ deputy PM and foreign minister, didn’t mince words as he painted a vivid picture of the Mekong River’s significance. This lifeline, coursing through mainland Southeast Asia, feeds the region in more ways than one. “The Mekong River is the bedrock of our livelihoods,” Saleumxay began fervently. From being a source of food production to energy generation and even resilient trade, the river’s bounty nourishes the population. Imagine 2.6 million tonnes of fish annually gracing dinner tables across the basin. That’s the kind of food security the Mekong River provides—a veritable…
