Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: The Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) initiative marked its Silver Jubilee in early November 2025. In these past two and a half decades, this forum has come a long way despite cynicism.

In the Indo-Pacific theatre there is no dearth of regional organisations. However, there is one forum that can be considered to a class apart when compared to the rest. This is the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) initiative, with Cambodia, Laos, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as members, which marked it marked the Silver Jubilee of its establishment on November 10, 2025.  What makes the MGC stands out is that, unlike other regional forums, which have either an explicit or an implicit political and security connotation, the MGC since its very inception has refrained from such posturing. To the contrary, the MGC, which derives its name from the Mekong and Ganga river systems that has shaped, to a considerable extent, the history, culture, and civilization of South and Southeast Asia. To the contrary, this regional forum is dedicated to promoting ‘common heritage through greater cooperation.’[1] Over the past 25 years, MGC has worked towards realising this goal, despite cynicism surrounding it as an Indian initiative, especially considering the context in which this forum was established.

Ganga and Mekong before MGC

To appreciate the achievements of MGC, there is a need to revisit a few events from the last decade of the previous century, before the inception of this regional forum on November 10, 2000 in Vientiane, Laos. It is in this context that the relevance of MGC and its future trajectory can be appreciated in its totality.

The formation of the MGC came at a time when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) became a regional body that represents the region in toto. Barring Thailand, all other countries in the Indo-China region were not the elder members of ASEAN but were welcomed into the ASEAN fold only after much thought. ASEAN, with origins dating back to 1967, had Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand as its founding members; along with Brunei Darussalam joined the regional forum within a week of its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1984. However, the inclusion of Brunei within the ASEAN community need not be seen as an expansion of the regional forum, as its membership, owing to the Cold War dynamics of the time, was a foregone conclusion. It was only after the dust of the Cold War had settled down in the Indo-China region and after considerable regional reservations were addressed that the expanded ASEAN came to be a Southeast Asian regional forum, when Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and finally Cambodia in 1999 were included as members.  

In the interim, India promulgated its Look East Policy in 1991 as an instrument for nurturing engagement with this region in the post-Cold War context. Resultantly, India’s engagement with ASEAN, the old ASEAN, so to say, did see a drastic change. In 1992, India became a Sectoral Partner of ASEAN, and in 1996, a Dialogue Partner, even before the expansion of ASEAN. Meanwhile, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) as a regional forum with the littoral of the said water body was formed in 1997 with India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand as founding members, and both Bhutan and Nepal joining much later. In 2002, incidentally after the formation of the BIMSTEC and MGC, India’s engagement with ASEAN was elevated to that of a Summit Level Partner within the ASEAN scheme of things.

But why does this timeline of events matter? As is quite evident, India’s engagement with ASEAN was welcomed by the elder members of the regional forum. However, the channels of communication with the new members, except Vietnam, were not at a similar frequency, thereby making the MGC important for India in this context. India at best enjoyed only nominal ties with both Cambodia and Laos. Despite having a contiguous geography and a shared history, the bilateral ties with Myanmar have been far from desirable, largely owing lately to the internal political dynamics and constraints within the country. In the case of Thailand, the nature of ties was relatively better, mostly owing to benign mutual neglect during the turbulent times of the Cold War. It was in this backdrop that India felt the need to have another channel of engagement, going beyond bilateral ties with the countries in the Indo-China region, especially in the context of an expanded ASEAN. Given the fact that ASEAN operated under a consensus with all members having an equal say and a veto, there was a need for India to deepen its engagement with all the ASEAN members countries in the Indo-China region too.  

The Road to mgc[at]25

MGC was originally conceptualised as the Ganga Suvarnabhumi Programme, reflecting the ancient Sanskrit name for much of Southeast Asia- Suvarnabhumi, the Golden Land. The foundation of this regional initiative was based on the shared historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious affiliation between India and the lower five lower riparian counties of the Mekong River. The initial areas of cooperation were limited to four areas, such as i) tourism, ii) culture, iii) education, in the form of scholarships being provided by India for citizens of the Mekong basin to study in the country and iv) transportation & communication.[2] The salience of these four areas of cooperation lies not only in their being instruments of benign, apolitical engagement but also reflecting upon a shared historical legacy that can be traced back to millenniums ago. This historical engagement is deep-rooted with a lasting imprint that is even now visible. Apart from the religious influence of Hinduism and Buddhism, the cultural exchanges have also shaped the languages of the Mekong basins. Both Brahmi and Pali, along with Sanskrit, have shaped the language and script in the Mekong basin. Historically, one of the South Indian Pallava kings was born in Champa (present-day Vietnam) and was coronated as such as the dynasty did not have an immediate heir to ascend to the throne. This king, Nandivarman II, who reigned between 731 and 796 AD, was incidentally a scion of the Pallava but from Champa. Such ties have persisted throughout history and continue to be relevant today. The significant impact of colonialism in contemporary times arose from the interactions between South and Southeast Asia."

It was based on this legacy that the MGC focused on the shared cultural ties. However, in 2012, during the Sixth Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, the areas of cooperation were expanded to include i) Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), ii) health & pandemic management, iii) rice germplasm, Common Archival Resource Centre (CARC) at Nalanda University, and iv) Quick Impact Projects (QIP).[3] As part of the 2019 Plan of Action, the areas of expanded cooperation were further extended to cover i) agriculture, ii) fisheries, iii) water resources management, iv) science & technology, and v) skill development.[4]  

Of these areas of cooperation, the QIPS stands apart, and to a lesser extent, water resource management. Over the past decade, India has executed about 165 projects, each valued at $50,000 or less, in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. [5] These projects have been local community initiatives aimed at addressing the concerns of the local community with an eye to building localised capacity and capabilities. However, the impact of the QIP model, rechristened as High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) when implemented in other parts of the world, like Afghanistan, the Maldives and Nepal have now become an integral part of India’s external ties. Incidentally a memorandum of understanding has been inked between India and Ukraine as recently as August 2023 on HICDP as part of India’s Humanitarian Grant Assistance to the conflict-ravaged country.[6] 

At first glance, the focus on water resource management aligns with this forum’s name, which is derived from the two rivers, Mekong and Ganga, that have been foundational to life and civilisation in this region. However, in terms of the MGC the cooperation on water covers the scope of “sustainable water management, water harvesting, water data collection, climate change adaptation and mitigation, integrated water resources management, groundwater management, transboundary basin management, water quality monitoring, flood and drought management, disaster reduction, etc.”[7] The significance of this exhaustive cooperation on water is rooted in the context of "transboundary water basin management, flood/drought management, and disaster reduction," as the member countries of the MGC rely on both the Tibetan plateau, where the Ganga and Mekong rivers originate, and the seasonal monsoons. Thus, a shared meteorological destiny unites both regions, with the upper riparian, Tibet, playing a crucial role.

Looking Beyond the Silver Jubilee

The larger context of India’s Look East Policy frames its championing of the MGC. It is to be noted that MGC need not be considered as a standalone initiative, as BIMSTEC can also be seen as part of India’s Look East Policy. However, unlike the BIMSTEC, which has so far held only six Summit-level interactions, the MGC has had far more frequent and dynamic points of engagement. Thus far, the MGC has had twelve Ministerial Meetings and thirteenth Senior Officials Meetings. It has been these points of contact, though not at the Heads of Government level, that have sustained the MGC over the years.

At its inception, the MGC was viewed as a platform for India to engage with all ASEAN members; however, it should also be considered in light of the new direction of India’s foreign policy initiatives under the Indo-Pacific framework. Some of the notable Indian initiatives of the past decade, like the Act East, which is an enhancement of the Look East Policy, the Neighbourhood First Policy, Global South Engagement and Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions (MAHASAGAR), share a similar philosophy of engagement like MGC.

While these Indian initiatives may be construed as benign, or at best, a form of soft power, they are often relegated to the sidelines of diplomacy and considered nothing more than a researcher’s footnote. On the contrary, the shared commonality that underpins these Indian initiatives does not carry any political, security, or strategic connotations since they are forums for cooperation and engagement based on development, progress, and the betterment of humanity. This is in stark contrast to the approach adopted by many other countries, who are intrusive by dictating terms about the domestic affairs of the recipient partner country. Or there are some that come up with a white elephant project that are neither viable nor practical, thus driving the recipient partner country into a debt trap. And here lies one of the fundamental differences of the Indian approach, especially in terms of the QIP and HICDP.

Additionally, the role that India plays both in with the MGC framework and otherwise, is in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Developmental   Goals (SDGs) that was formulated in 2015. The 17 SDGs, in one way or another finds resonance in India’s approach to global partnership beginning with the MGS initiative. In fact, most of the SGC have been incorporated with in the MGC framework. Thus, keeping with the spirit of the SDGs, the avenues of cooperation within MGC have covered areas, such as fisheries and agriculture, especially rice germplasm, which aims at improving modern rice cultivation (SGC#2 on Zero Hunger). Health & pandemic management (SGC#3 Good Health & Well Being), Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) along with skill development can be seen in the context of SGC #8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth). And Water Resources Management, which aligns with both SDG#14- Life Below Water and SGC#15- Life on Land. 

MGC beyond the Jubilee

With a history of 25 years, it is time for MGC to look beyond its past and into the future. At the outset, there is a case for an integrated approach wherein Indian initiatives, or those initiatives to which India is a party, be it bilateral or multilateral, are to be complementary in nature and not at odds with one another. Second, since the MGC is named after Ganga and Mekong rivers, it may be best to include all river systems and countries that lie between these two rivers basin within the MGC framework. This would mean that the MGC may have to be receptive to welcoming new members. The third facet that should be under consideration is that the MGC should not be a standalone initiative of India but rather a poster boy of India’s external engagement. This, in other words, translates into a call for India to invest more into the MGC and expand both in scope and depth of the existing lines of cooperation.

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*Dr. Sripathi Narayanan, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal.

Endnotes 

[1] Vientiane Declaration On Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, November 10, 2000.    

https://mgc.gov.in/public/uploads/Vientiane_Declaration.pdf, accessed on October 22, 2025.

[2] Vientiane Declaration On Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, November 10, 2000.   

https://mgc.gov.in/public/uploads/Vientiane_Declaration.pdf, accessed on October 22, 2025.

[3] Joint Ministerial Statement on the 6th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Meeting, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, September 4, 2012, https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/20457/Joint+Ministerial+Statement+on+the+6th+Mekong+Ganga+Cooperation+Meeting, accessed on October 29, 2025.

[4] Joint Ministerial Statement of the 10th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, August 2, 2019, https://mgc.gov.in/public/uploads/10TH_MGC_JMS.pdf, accessed on October 30, 2025.  

[5] Quick Impact Projects, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, September 18, 2025, https://mgc.gov.in/qip, accessed on October 29, 2025.  

[6] List of documents signed during the visit of Prime Minister to Ukraine, Prime Minister's Office, Government of India, August 23, 2024, https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2048247. , accessed on October 31, 2025.

[7] Joint Ministerial Statement of the 10th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, August 2, 2019, https://mgc.gov.in/public/uploads/10TH_MGC_JMS.pdf, accessed on October 30, 2025.