The Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Special Fund is a cooperation mechanism set up by China that involves Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam with the aim of promoting cooperation in the areas of political, security, and economic and social development.

The signing ceremony for 22 projects under 10 ministries in Myanmar was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 23, 2020. The projects cover sectors such as agriculture, water resources, education, society and culture, research, information and technology, rule of law, human resource and investment, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its announcement.

The Mekong-Lancang initiative, established in 2016, aims to reduce the development gap and promote sustainable development in the Mekong region and was first proposed by Chinese Prime Minister Mr Li Keqiang at the ASEAN-China Summit held in Myanmar in 2014. Myanmar received US$2.4million for 10 projects from the Mekong-Lancang Special Fund 2017 and US$7.2million for 19 projects from Mekong-Lancang Special Fund 2018.

Of the latest tranche of funding, about US$5 million will be spent on 12 projects related to agriculture, farming, and rural development. The departments under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation will use the funds to improve connectivity, production capacity cooperation, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture, and poverty reduction.

While the early focus of the initiative was on agriculture, it was later expanded to cover education, culture and health in the Mekong region.