Busadee Santipitaks has stepped into her role as the first female and fourth riparian Chief Executive Officer to lead the Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat. Starting her three-year term on 17 January 2025, she is overseeing the organization’s operations from its headquarters in Vientiane and the Flood and Drought Management Centre in Phnom Penh from 2025-2027.

Under her leadership, a new strategic direction will focus on:

• Intensified cooperation: Strengthening collaboration among the four MRC Member Countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam) and dialogue partners (China and Myanmar) as well as development partners on all aspects of water resources management.
• Enhanced river monitoring: Improving the MRC’s data collection and analysis capabilities to better understand the Mekong River’s complex dynamics and predict future water-related events.
• Joint project management: Identifying, prioritizing, and implementing collaborative projects that address transboundary water management.
• Flood and drought resilience: Enhancing the resilience of Mekong Basin communities to the impacts of floods and droughts through improved early warning systems.

During her term, Santipitaks will oversee the final implementation of the MRC Strategic Plan 2021-2025 within the Basin Development Strategy 2021-2030. She will also lead the development of the new Strategic Plan 2026-2030.