Mr Mam Sambath, DPA Executive Director, attended an NGO Strategy Meeting to discuss the social and environmental impact of Chinese overseas investments in the Mekong region at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok on August 12th and 13th, 2010. The aim of the meeting was to bring together Chinese NGOs and regional activists working with communities and organizations in the Mekong region on the impact of Chinese overseas investments. The meeting was hosted by Focus on the Global South, an NGO afflilated with the Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute, in co-operation with Bank Information Center, Friends of the Earth-US, International Rivers, Mekong Watch and Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA).

The knowledge-building and skill-sharing meeting sought to build effective strategies which would make Chinese investments in the Mekong more sustainable and avoid the destructive effects of investment experiences from Western companies in the region. It also sought to develop cooperative initiatives among Chinese NGOs and Mekong campaigners to work together in the future.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the investment volume between China and Asean jumped from $230 Million USD in 2003 to $10 billion USD in April,2010.