The culinary festival proposed by the MGC - Mekong Ganga Cooperation was organised this weekend by the Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the embassies of Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand, as well as the Phnom Penh municipal administration.
This gastronomic festival, which showcased the typical cuisines of the MGC countries, was inaugurated by the Indian ambassador, H.E. Vanlalvawna Bawitlung, in the company of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the embassies of Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam.
More than 12 Indian, Cambodian, Laotian, Burmese and Thai restaurants based in Phnom Penh offered food stalls on this occasion.
Spouses from the Indian Embassy added an extra touch by running a stall selling homemade food and delicacies, with all proceeds going to local charities.
Located on the banks of the Mekong, opposite the Ounalom pagoda in Phnom Penh, the festival delighted tourists and locals alike, who quickly invaded Phnom Penh's new ‘Riverside Walk’ street.
According to the Indian embassy, the Mekong Ganga Cooperation, set up in 2000, has the distinction of being the oldest of the Mekong cooperation mechanisms. The MGC has carried out many cooperation activities, and the cooking festival was part of the MGC's 2019-24 action plan. A new action plan is being prepared as 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the MGC. Tourism and people-to-people links are among the MGC's priority areas, and this festival was a welcome addition to encourage further initiatives.
About Mekong-Ganga Cooperation
Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is a six-country initiative - India and five ASEAN countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam - for cooperation in tourism, culture, education and transport and communications.
It was launched in November 2000 in Vientiane, Laos, with the signing of the Vientiane Declaration. The consortium was initially called the Ganga Suvarnabhumi Programme (GMSP). The Ganges and the Mekong are both rivers of civilisation, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts between the inhabitants of these two great river basins. The MGC also reflects the cultural and commercial links that have been forged over the centuries between MGC member countries. Since its creation in 2000, ten meetings of the MGC foreign ministers have been held, the last of which took place in August 2019 in Bangkok. The MGC meetings are co-chaired alternately each year by India and one of the five Mekong countries.
Photographs AKP
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