(MPI) – On March 31st, 2018, the 10th Cambodia-Laos-Viet Nam (CLV) Summit on Development Triangle Area was held, under the co-chairmanship of Prime Minister of Kingdom of Cambodia Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Lao People’s Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), ASEAN Secretary-General and World Bank (WB) Managing Director and Chief Financial officer attended the Summit by invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
The Summit focused on reviewing the implementation of the Master Plan for Socio-economic Development of the CLV Development Triangle Area through 2020 and the performance of the decisions of the previous CLV Summit and discussing the region’s cooperation orientations in the coming time.
The Summit looked back on the results of 18 years of cooperation of the CLV Development Triangle Area. Despite the difficulties, the area of 13 provinces of the 3 countries have been developing continuously, including infrastructure, business and production companies, especially, the people’s lives have been improving significantly. Poverty has decreased, stayed at a low level. The Government of the three countries has paid attention to the provinces in the CLV Development Triangle Area.
People to people exchange within the area has been expanding and becoming more and more profound, united. This shows the determination and non-stop effort of the Governments of the three countries, this is also a result of the effective cooperation of the development partners.
 |
|
From left to right: CambodianPM Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and Lao PM Thongloun Sisoulith: Chinhphu.vn |
The Summit emphasized the necessity of strengthening the connections among the three economies in order to enhance economic competitiveness, effectively participate in the regional and global value chains and deal with the common challenges. At the same time, the Summit discussed on CLV Development Triangle Area cooperation expansion and agreed to assign this matter to the ministers, experts for further research. To promote economic integration, enhance competitiveness and maintain growth momentum of the CLV economies, CLV leaders had approved the Master Plan for CLV Connectivity until 2030. The cooperation plan includes the major orientations, which aim to boot cooperation in institution connection, economy connection, infrastructure connection and people to people exchange.
The institution connection includes: enhancing policy dissemination, information exchange, coordinating in construction and enforcement of macro policies; simplifying procedures to promote investment, trade, tourism, agriculture, traffic, managing and developing human resources training; creating a convenient environment for the people and enterprises of the three countries to co-operate for the greater common good.
Economy and infrastructure connection focuses on fields such as: enhancing, modernizing and ensuring a flowing and convenient connection of traffic infrastructure, information technology, energy, trade, agriculture, tourism; cooperating to deal with climate change, environment protection and natural resources preservation, especially forest, water resources and other Mekong related resources; clearing mines, bombs and unexploded ordnance.
People connection includes connections in the fields of education, medication, culture, sport, tourism, business, charity activities, human resources training management and development; people to people exchange development.
To perform this Action Plan, CLV leaders had assigned the Joint Coordination Committee to construct detailed plans, projects, and to evaluate the annual implementation situation, update the Action Plan, reflect the real situation and the need of CLV countries.
Besides, the CLV leaders also directed the Joint Coordination Committee to positively deploy some contents to enhance the cooperation effectiveness such as: enhancing foreign security cooperation, especially in preventing timber, human, drug trafficking, cross-border crime, coping with infectious diseases and natural disasters, clearing explosive remnants of war; formulating the Development Triangle Area Tourism Development Plan to create a breakthrough for tourism of the three countries; at the same time, tasking the Ministries of Agriculture from the three countries to exchange and complete the Rubber Industry Development Plan in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to present at the 11th CLV summit on Development Triangle Area for reviewing; promoting the joint cooperation programs on environment protection and natural resources management; regularly updating information on potentials, preference policies for the CLV Development Triangle Area on CLV Development Triangle Portal.
The Summit had opened a new page in the CLV Development Triangle Area cooperation. This was the first time development partners were invited to the Summit and showed responsibility to CLV area, which asserted the role of the CLV Development Triangle Area in ASEAN community.
Regarding cooperation orientation in the coming time, the CLV leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening further the comprehensive cooperation between the three countries, to contribute to constructing integrated, sustainable, prosperous CLV economies as an indispensable part of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
 |
|
The CLV leaders signed the Joint Declaration of CLV Development Triangle Area Cooperation: Chinhphu.vn |
After ending the Summit, The CLV leaders signed the Joint Declaration of CLV Development Triangle Area Cooperation, agreed to organize the 11th CLV summit on Development Triangle Area in Laos in 2020 and co-hosted the international press conference on the results of the 10th CLV Summit on Development Triangle Area./.
Hien Nguyen
Ministry of Planning and Investment