The Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS) has appointed a Belgian water engineer

Dr Olivier Cogels (pictured) as its new chief executive officer.

He joins the MRCS from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

(FAO), where he headed the secretariat of the International Programme for Technology

and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) at the FAO's headquarters in Rome.

He will take up his new position at the MRCS headquarters in Vientiane, Laos, on

August 9.