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)