The Vice President’s visit to Thailand is reaffirming United States’ commitment to the stability, peace, prosperity, and sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region through cooperation with Mekong-region countries.

In Bangkok, the Vice President is convening civil society leaders involved in climate action and environmental protection in Northern Thailand and business leaders involved in the clean energy transition to advance our work in the Mekong sub-region. The Vice President is announcing new funding to support clean energy, connectivity, and sustainable economic development in the Mekong sub-region.

This announcement builds on the announcements the Vice President made to support the Mekong sub-region in protecting the environment and supporting sustainable use of natural resources, including the Mekong-Mississippi Sister Rivers Partnership and the Mekong NextGen Scientists program.

See related article: U.S. Advances Commitment to Reaching Net Zero Global Emissions and Combatting Climate Change

Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership (JUMPP)

The Vice President is announcing that the Administration intends to request from Congress up to $20 million in additional funding to JUMPP, which supports the Mekong sub-region’s pursuit of energy security while encouraging greater regional power flows, clean energy integration, decarbonization, and resilience.  Since announcing JUMPP in August 2019 with an initial U.S. investment of $29.5 million, the United States and Japan have expanded partnerships with Mekong countries to build more competitive and connected energy markets and infrastructure.  JUMPP supports Mekong governments in achieving their clean energy transition and regional interconnection goals.

Mekong countries are rapidly integrating renewable energy projects that require technical assistance for modernizing regulations, market mechanisms, and for maintaining stability and reliability. Expanding renewable energy generation capacity across the Mekong helps diversify the region’s electricity mix and reduce reliance on hydropower capacity. JUMPP assists countries with technical assistance supporting strong energy markets and reliably integrating renewable energy to ensure citizens have access to reliable, secure, and affordable energy supplies to support economic growth and prosperity.