Mekong-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund
Supporting Catalytic and Innovative Activities in Seven Priority Sectors
Mekong RoK Cooperation Fund (MKCF) introduction
Following the launch of the Mekong - RoK partnership in 2011, the MKCF was established in 2013 to encourage and support cooperation in six priority areas outlined in the Han River Declaration of 2011.
The Fund provides a grant for projects that are of regional in nature. Such project is aligned with the priorities of the country to address national issues that facilitate regional integration process. The funded project can be implemented in a single country, in the meantime benefits should be shared among the countries in the Mekong region and the RoK so that the cooperation and integration in the General Mekong Subregion are fostered.
It was agreed among five Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Thailand) and the RoK that the MKCF will be financed through an annual contribution from the RoK to MI and will be managed by MI in accordance with the Terms of Reference (TOR) adopted at the 3rd Mekong – RoK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2013 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Moreover, at the 5th Mekong – RoK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in August 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Ministers recognized the need for a more efficient management of the MKCF and agreed to task MI to act as a Coordinator for the MKCF.
The MKCF logo was created with the view to enhancing the visibility of the MKCF to the wider public. The logo was created by Mekong Institute and represents the cooperation among the constituent states of the Mekong countries and the RoK.
Korea’s Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region
Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy envisions building a multi-layered and comprehensive network of partnerships to counter challenges to freedom, peace and prosperity in the region. Through the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Korea is committed to exploring new agenda and playing a leading role in setting the agenda in the region and the wider world to build a free, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
(connecting URL : http://bit.ly/3yRxcAM)
Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative (KASI)
The Republic of Korea views ASEAN as a key partner for building peace and shared prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, and in this context announced the Korea-ASEAN Solidarity Initiative(KASI) as a regional policy tailored to ASEAN with the framework of the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Also Korea would build on the existing solid partnerships spanning trade and socio-economic cooperation towards fostering a comprehensive and strategic partnership with ASEAN.
Mekong-Republic of Korea Cooperation
Plan of Action (POA) 2021-2025 for the implementation of Mekong-Han River Declaration
The Plan of Action (PoA) 2021-2025 under the Mekong-RoK Cooperation framework between the five Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) serves as the guideline for the Mekong countries and the RoK (the Partner countries) by setting specific goals and measures for the next five years (2021-2025) to build a Partnership for People, Prosperity and Peace, as proclaimed in the Mekong-Han River Declaration adopted at the first Mekong-RoK Summit, on 27 November 2019 in Busan, RoK.
priority area (7)
Culture and Tourism
Human Resource Development
Agriculture and Rural Development
Infrastructure
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Environment
Non-traditional Security Challenges
(Plan of Action (POA) 2021-2025 for the implementation of Mekong-Han River Declaration
The Mekong Region Countries and the RoK adopted the Mekong – RoK Plan of Action at the 4th Mekong - RoK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Seoul on July 29, 2014. The Plan of Action presents concrete activities/programs to be implemented between the Mekong Countries and the RoK over the next three years to realize the visions and objectives outlined in the Han-River Declaration of Establishing the Mekong – RoK Comprehensive Partnership for Mutual Prosperity.
(Download Document of Mekong-Republic of Korea Plan of Action 2014-2017)
Priority area 2014-17 & 2017-2020 (6)
Infrastructure
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Green Growth
Water Resource Development
Agriculture and Rural Development
Human Resource Development
Mekong Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF)
Mekong Institute (MI) serves as the coordinator of the Mekong-Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF)
Key Roles and Responsibilities of the Mekong Institute as the Fund Coordinator are as below
1. INITIATION & CONCEPTION
- Prepare, coordinate, and announce Project Call for Expression of Interest (EOI)
- Review and shortlist of the incoming project EOIs.
2. PLANNING
- Provide guidance for proposal development
- Conduct due diligence / assessment of the proponents’ capacity to implement the project
- Proposal Quality Assurance
- Prepare the project agreement
3. PROJECT LAUNCH & EXECUTION
- Launch the project with the selected proponent / project implementing agency
- Track the project progress
- Provide guidance on resource planning i.e. personnel recruitment, TOR development, etc.
4. MONITORING & CONTROL
- Monitor the project implementation
- Control the quality of the deliverables
- Review the project midterm reports
- Review the project performance
5. END OF PROJECT
- Review the project final reports
- Evaluate the project implementation
- Discuss the exit strategies with the implementing agency
- Report to Mekong-RoK MOFA SOM
MKCF Project Application
The below is the MKCF application process,
more detail to be found in the MKCF manual.
1. Eligibility
Government agencies/Autonomous Organization from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Thailand (CLMVT) and organizations from the RoK.
Non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and training institutes from CLMVT and the RoK.
International Organizations, including UN Agencies, and other International Non-Governmental Organizations having operating offices in the Mekong countries and RoK.
Experience in implementing development projects for at least 5 years.
Assistance to individuals will not be provided.
NB - Projects proposals of entirely of research nature or academic research are not encouraged under this fund.
2. Project Budget
The contribution of the Fund per project proposal is minimum of 300,000 USD and maximum of 1,000,000 USD.
The fund encourages projects promoting 3-way (triangular) or 4-way (quadripartite) collaboration with other donors, including but not limited to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), Japan, United States (US), Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada etc. Extra budgetary funds should be leveraged, when needed, to facilitate such projects.
The fund provides grants for joint activities with a regional or international entity, formalized through a cooperation agreement and is considered as regional.
Activities which are not eligible for funding include construction of buildings and payment of rent or utilities.
The time frame of the project should be 2-3 years.
3. Application stage
3.1 EOIs
The announcement of the EOI submission will be made on the websites of the Governments of the Mekong countries, Mekong Institute (MI) and through network of MI partners in the Mekong countries.
Proponents shall need to submit an EOI to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the respective countries. International Organizations, including UN Agencies, and other International Non-Governmental Organizations having operating offices in the Mekong countries and RoK based organizations should submit the EoI to RoK MOFA. The EOI should be submitted to the following focal points in the Mekong countries and RoK within the stipulated date.
The EOIs short listed for full proposals do not necessarily guarantee award of final selection of the project.
3.2 Full Project Proposal
Proponents of the selected EOIs are requested to submit the full project proposals to MI within the stipulated date. In the case revisions are requested on the submitted full project proposal, MI will inform the proponent to revise and submit within a specific date.
MI shall review the full project proposals as per the selection criteria and results of the organizational assessment (due diligence) to shortlist the full proposals for submission to RoK approval body.
4. Project Selection Process
- The announcement of Expression of Interest (EOI) submission from the 5 Mekong countries and the RoK
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the 5 Mekong Countries and ROK collect the EOIs and forward them to MI.
- MI reviews the EOIs, makes a shortlist and submits them to the MOFA-RoK.
- MOFA RoK reviews the EOIs and shortlists the EOIs for full proposal
- MI notifies the shortlisted EOIs and Mekong SOM leader and RoK
- The shortlisted EOIs prepare the full proposal, MI conducts due diligence / assessment and provide advisory services
- MI conducts final review of the proposals and submits to RoK requests for approval
As of 2023, RoK provided US$18.4 million to foster regional support and cooperation among the 5 Mekong member countries. Through 41 projects, MKCF built human resource capacities from Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam in the areas of (1) Culture and Tourism, (2) Human Resources Development, (3) Agriculture and Rural Development, (4) Infrastructure, (5) Information and Communication Technology (ICT), (6) Environment, and (7) Non-traditional Security Challenges.
*Country lead refers to lead implementing agency of the project.
MKCF projects overview
The MKCF provides a grant for projects that are of regional in nature. Such project is aligned with the priorities of the country to address national issues that facilitate regional integration process. The regional project should address the needs of several Member States in the Mekong region.
The below are the regional projects lead by each Mekong Country, Regional Organization, and International Organization.
Regional projects by Cambodia
Cambodia Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology | Completed | 2017 | 1 year (Mar/2017 -Mar/2018) | |
Department of Green Economy, National Council for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment | Guidelines and Certification for Green Buildings in Cambodia | On going | 2018 | 4 years 7 months (Dec/2018 -Jul/2023 |
General Department of Logistics, Ministry of Public Works and Transport | On going | 2020 | 3 years 1 month (Jun/2020 -Jul/2023 | |
Department of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MoWRM) | On going | 2022 | 1 year -Dec/2023) | |
Department of Training, Techo Sen Institute of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Public Works and Transport | On going | 2021 | 1 year and 6 months (Dec/2021 -Jun/2023 | |
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) | On going | 2023 | 2 years and 6 months (Mar/2023-Sep/2025) |
Regional projects by Lao PDR
Lao PDR Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Legal Division, Permanent Secretary office, Ministry of Industry and Commerce | Completed | 2017 | 2 years (Dec/2017 -Jan/2019) | |
Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment | Completed | 2019 | 3 years 9 months (April/2019 -Jan/2023) | |
Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Planning and Investment | Development of Regional Cooperation Project Monitoring Data Center | On going | 2020 | 2 years 5 months (Oct/2020 -Mar/2023) |
Department of Agricultural Land Management, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) | Soil, Water and Nutrient Management (SWNM) for increasing Farm Households | On going | 2021 | 1 year 11 months (Apr/2021 -Mar/2023) |
Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry | Livelihood Development for Sustainable Forest Governance in Northern Laos | On going | 2022 | 2 years (May/2022 -May/2024 |
Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) - Research institute for Energy and Mines (RIEM) | Development and Promoting of Solar Drying Utilization for agricultural and ODOP products | On going | 2023 | 2 years (Jan/2023 -Dec/2024 |
Regional projects by Myanmar
Myanmar Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Central Statistical Organization, Ministry of Planning and Finance | Completed | 2017 | 6 years 2 months (Jan/2017 -Mar/2023) | |
Department of Mechanical Engineering Yangon Technological University | Capacity Enhancement on Wind Energy Usage for Sustainable Rural Development in Myanmar | On going | 2018 | 2 years (Mar/2018 -Mar/2020) |
Forest Department Head Office, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation | On going | 2020 | 3 years (Dec/2020 -Nov/2023) | |
Land Use Division, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation | Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in Soil and Water for Safety Crop Production in Myanmar | On going | 2022 | 1 year and 5 months (Oct/2022 -Mar/2024) |
Mawlamyine University (Mon State) | Impact of Migration on Rural Development with Special Emphasis on Agriculture of Mon State, Myanmar | On going | 2022 | 2 years (Mar/2022 -Mar/2024) |
School of Industrial Training and Education (SITE) and KRIVET | On going | 2023 | 2 years (Jan/2023 -Dec/2024) |
Regional projects by VIET NAM
Viet Nam Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Department of Human Resource Development (HRD), Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Viet Nam | Completed | 2016 | 1 years (Oct/2016 -Sept/2017) | |
Agency of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Ministry of Industry and Trade | Enhancing the capacity of applying e-commerce in agriculture of Mekong Region | Completed | 2018 | 1 year (Jan/2018 -Jan/2019) |
Viet Nam National Mekong Committee | On going | 2023 | 2 years (Feb/2023 -Feb/2025) | |
Can Tao Climate Change Coordination Office | On going | 2021 | 2 years (Jun/2021 -Mar/2023) | |
Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam | Mekong Leadership Program and Capacity Building Activities (Mekong LEAD and Mekong BUILD) | On going | 2022 | 2 years (Mar/2022 -Feb/2024) |
Southern Institute of Ecology (SIE) | Not commence yet | - | 2 years and 6 months |
Regional projects by THAILAND
Thailand Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
National Food Institute | Comprehensive Training to Increase efficiency of Rice Production | Completed | 2017 | 9 months (Jan/2017 -Sept/2017) |
Institute for Population and Social research, Mahidol University | Completed | 2018 | 1 years (Jan/2018 -Dec/2018) | |
BIOTEC, NSTDA | Completed | 2020 | 2 years 6 months (Jul/2020 -Dec/2022) | |
Institute Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University | On going | 2021 | 2 years (Mar/2021 -Mar/2023) | |
Center for Civil Society and Nonprofit Management (CSNM), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, KKU | Enhancing Community and Small-scale Water Resource Management in the Mekong Region (ECSWRM) | On going | 2021 | 3 years (Dec/2021-Dec/2024) |
Ministry of Interior of Thailand - Department of Provincial Administration | On going | 2023 | 2 years (Jan/2023-Jan/2025) |
Regional projects by ROK
RoK Lead | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Narcotics Division, Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO), Republic of Korea | Strengthening of Border Liaison Office (BLO) around the Mekong River | Completed | 2016 | 7 months (Aug/2016-March/2017) |
K-Water: Korea Water Resources Corporation | Water Data Utilization and Capacity Building in the Mekong Region | Completed | 2019 | 3 years (Oct/2019-Oct/2022) |
Korea Customs Service | Building Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) between Mekong Countries and Korea | Withdrawn |
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Seoul National University | On going | 2022 | 2 years (Jan/2022-Dec/2023) | |
Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCo) | ICT for Adaptation to Climate Change and Forest Fire Management in Mekong Region | On going | 2023 | 2 years and 9 months (Feb/2023-Nov/2025) |
Regional projects by MI
Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
Completed | 2014 | 3 years 3 months (Jun/2014-Sept/2017) | |
Completed | 2017 | 3 years (Oct/2017-Sept/2020) | |
On going | 2020 | 3 years and 9 months (Apr/2020-Dec/2023) | |
Sustainable and Smart Agricultural Supply Chain Development in Mekong Countries | On going | 2021 | 1 year and 6 months (Dec/2021-May/2023) |
On going | 2023 | 3 years (Jan/2023-Dec/2025) |
Regional projects by International Organization
Lead IO | Project title | Status | Year of Launch | Project Duration |
International Rice Research Institute, University of the Philippines (IRRI) | Rice Straw-Based Circular Economy for Improved Biodiversity and Sustainability (RiceEco) | On going | 2023 | 3 years (Feb/2023-Feb/2026) |
Announcement of the 7th Call for MKCF Regional Project Proposals
Mr. Madhurjya k. Dutta
Director
Trade & Investment Facilitation Department
Mekong-Korea Cooperation Fund (MKCF)
Mekong Institute
Email: dutta@mekonginstitute.org