China Central Television (CCTV) is to start shooting for a
20-part documentary on the Mekong River in cooperation with
broadcasters in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).
A delegation made up of CCTV directors will conduct field
research in Myanmar in May. They are also expected to film segments
related to the country's fishery industry.?
CCTV will be cooperating with Myanmar Radio and Television
Department (MRTV), Cambodia's KTV, Laos' LTV, Thailand's Modern 9TV
and Vietnam's VTV in the making of the documentary.
The GMS comprises six countries that share the 4,500-kilometer
Mekong River that originates from China and runs through Myanmar,
Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The GMS has a combined land
area of nearly 2.3 million square kilometers and is home to more
than 250 million people.
Aimed at developing international passenger and cargo
transportation, trade and tourism on the Lancang-Mekong portion of
the river, Myanmar, China, Laos and Thailand signed a commercial
navigation agreement in April 2000.
The agreement provides that vessels of any signatory country can
sail freely between Simao in China and Luangprabang in Laos.
Myanmar opened two ports to facilitate the workings of the
agreement. The Lancang-Mekong international waterway was officially
opened to commercial navigation in June 2001.
(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2006)