The Chinese government has set aside a budget of US$2.39 million (about 80 million baht) for the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) to support seven Thai university projects related to the Mekong River, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek says.
Ms Rachada on Friday revealed that the cabinet on Thursday gave the green light to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on Mekong projects: the Lancang Cooperation Special Fund 2021 conducted between MHESI and the Chinese embassy in Thailand.
The MoU will be in effect for five years, which sets the purpose of defining the direction of the project management with benefits leading to sustainable prosperity and peace for the Mekong–Lancang community.
In steering the project, the Chinese government has decided to subsidise the projects under the MoU this year, Ms Rachada said.
Three projects are run by Chiang Mai University, which the Chinese government has given $420,000 to help aquatic animals in the Mekong Delta, $400,000 for a food security project with suitable technological innovation, and $416,100 for a bee farm project.
Just under $340,000 was injected into a breeding development project for aquatic animals of Suranaree University of Technology. The project is trying to utilise local resources for sustainability.
Ms Rachada said the Far Eastern University received $157,600 for its project to manage digital data of the logistic providers in the member countries of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, in an attempt to support cross-border trade.
A total of $184,900 was given to Burapha University to launch a health development project for personnel that takes care of mothers, infants and minorities in Laos and Vietnam.
The Chinese government also gave $479,000 to Geo-Informatics and Space Technology to develop a tracking system and assess the amounts of productivity of the cash crops in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, she said.