An overview of the conference

Addressing the event, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman TongThi Phong said that amidst the complicated and unforeseeable developments inthe region and the world, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have actively coordinatedwith and supported each other for stronger partnership.

The Development Triangle initiative, which involves borderlocalities of the three countries, has seen fruitful results in exploiting thepotential and advantages of the localities, contributing to the growth in eachcountry as well as the ASEAN Community, she noted.

Phong lauded the collaboration among the Committees forExternal Relations of parliaments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia over the years,which showed the three parliaments’ strong determination in promoting theirties in a deep and practical manner.

The two-day conference, which marked the 20th anniversary of the initiative, also aims to evaluate the efficiency inimplementation of agreements among the three countries and outline orientationsfor future cooperation.

Phong underscored that the Development Triangle cooperationover the past two decades has helped narrowed down development gaps andstrengthen socio-economic development in the three countries as well as cement theirclose neighbourliness.

Despite their small economic scale, the 13 DevelopmentTriangle localities have showed efforts in improving economic restructuring,infrastructure system, education, health care, culture and environmentalprotection.

So far, Vietnamese firms have invested 3.6 billion USD in116 projects in Lao and Cambodian localities in the area.

Representatives from Cambodia and Laos agreed on positiveresults in the partnership among the parliaments of the three countries.

However, participants at the event pointed to a number ofissues that need to be improved in the cooperation, including connections ininfrastructure, human resources quality, inconsistent resources and policies, complicatedsecurity situation and uncontrolled smuggling and trade frauds.

They stressed the need to assess advantages as well asdifficulties and challenges in implement the agreements, thus mapping out newinitiatives and solutions to suit the new situation and promote investment,trade cooperation and infrastructure connections in the area.

At the same time, the NA Committees for External Relationsof the three countries should regularly share their experience and increaseinformation exchange with the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development TriangleCoordination Committee, they said.

The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle area groups13 localities with total area of 144,300 sq.m, accounting for 19.3 percent ofthe three countries’ total natural area, and a population of over 7 million.

So far, the three countries have held 10 summits at PrimeMinister-level on the area, along with 12 ministerial meetings, producingfruitful results in many areas.-VNA