Promoting the Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam Development Triangle Area

Breakthrough solutions are needed in infrastructure development, human resource development and institutional reform to promote cooperation in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area.

Thúc đẩy Khu vực Tam giác phát triển Campuchia - Lào - Việt Nam

On the morning of March 1 in Attapeu province (Laos), the 13th meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee of the CLV Development Triangle Area took place under the chairmanship of Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Khammchen Vongphosy, Chairman of the CLV Coordination Committee of Laos; Minister of Commerce CHAM Nimul, Chairman of the CLV Coordination Committee of Cambodia, and Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Chairman of the CLV Coordination Committee of Vietnam.

The conference highly appreciated the results of cooperation in recent times, and emphasized the need to continue promoting cooperation for the socio -economic development of each side and of the whole region.

Top priority in foreign policy

Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung affirmed that the solidarity, friendship, closeness and political trust between the three countries of Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam is a precious heritage for all three peoples, and has strategic significance in the cause of construction, protection and development of the three countries. "Vietnam always considers this a strategic task and gives top priority to Vietnam's foreign policy. In 2024, our three countries will mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam Development Triangle, which is an important milestone in the cooperation process in the region," the Minister emphasized.

Over the past 25 years, the three countries have coordinated to carry out many joint cooperation activities, contributing to the development of the CLV region not only in promoting socio-economic development, poverty reduction and enhancing connectivity, but also promoting exchanges between the three National Assemblies, three Governments, organizations and people of the three countries through comprehensive cooperation in the fields of transportation, telecommunications, energy, trade, investment, industry, banking and finance, agriculture, tourism, health, culture, labor, education, environment, science and technology.

Within the framework of cooperation, initially, open policy mechanisms have been built and formed to promote investment and trade in the region. Large investment projects have been and are being implemented in the fields of hydropower; cooperation in searching, exploiting and processing minerals; planting and processing high-value industrial products... The infrastructure system has gradually been formed and developed, especially in the fields of transportation and hydropower.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that to date, Vietnamese enterprises have invested in 110 projects with a total investment capital of 3.7 billion USD in the Development Triangle area in Laos and Cambodia.

The scale of trade turnover between Vietnam and Laos has been continuously expanded from 823.4 million USD in 2016 to 1.63 billion USD in 2023 (2.1 times higher). The scale of Vietnam - Cambodia trade has increased nearly 3 times, from 2.92 billion USD in 2016 to 8.56 billion USD in 2023. Cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, security, transportation, agriculture, health, tourism, etc. has also been actively and effectively implemented by the ministries, branches and localities of the three countries.

Besides the results that the region has achieved in the past time, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung also frankly pointed out that these results are still limited, have not met expectations, and have not really created a breakthrough for the socio-economic development of localities in the region.

Some specific reasons were mentioned by Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, including: Limitations and inadequacies in infrastructure, human resources and institutions; Some mechanisms and agreements in the region have been approved but have not been actively implemented; Resources to implement programs and projects for this region from each country are still limited, while calling for and attracting support resources from outside the region has not been much...

Besides, trade and investment cooperation still has many shortcomings, tax policies, customs, investment procedures are not consistent...

Need for breakthroughs in infrastructure, human resources and institutional development

“To promote the implementation as well as build the direction and cooperation plan of the Development Triangle Area for the following years, our three countries need to have breakthrough solutions in infrastructure development, human resource development and institutional reform,” said Minister Nguyen Chi Dung.

Regarding infrastructure development, countries need to prioritize resources for developing key traffic routes to transport goods to seaports and commercial centers. “Vietnam will prioritize the construction of the Ngoc Hoi - Quy Nhon expressway to serve the export needs of goods in the Development Triangle area. We suggest that Laos and Cambodia proactively prioritize resources to renovate and upgrade traffic routes connecting to Vietnam's Ngoc Hoi - Quy Nhon expressway,” the Minister proposed.

Regarding human resource development, the three countries need to have synchronous solutions to develop human resources to attract investment, especially in areas with regional strengths such as high-tech agriculture, renewable energy, mining, tourism, etc. In the immediate future, it is necessary to prioritize existing training cooperation programs for human resource development in the region.

Regarding institutional reform, each country needs to proactively review current mechanisms, obstacles to business development, investment attraction... and proactively identify priority projects based on the strengths of each locality in the region.

Along with that, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that the three countries need to continue implementing cooperation programs in various fields. Specifically on economic cooperation, it is necessary to continue to disseminate and develop an Action Plan to promote the effective implementation of the Agreements and Agreements agreed and signed within the cooperation framework of the CLV Development Triangle. Continue to research to concretize, through specific mechanisms and policies for the Development Triangle to encourage trade and investment, focusing on border trade and developing the land border gate economy, building border infrastructure. Simplify procedures for transporting goods across the border, preserving agricultural products, quality inspection... contributing to reducing costs of labor and means of transportation.

Facilitate projects in the fields of high-tech agriculture, solar power, wind power, mining and processing industries to be deployed in the region. Quickly and effectively implement the Action Plan to connect the three economies to improve competitiveness, attract foreign investment, and shorten the development gap with other ASEAN members.

In addition to economic development cooperation, it is necessary to focus on strengthening cooperation in security - foreign affairs, society, environment; promoting cooperation between provinces in the region such as increasing delegation exchanges, people-to-people exchanges, etc.

Regarding resources for implementation, Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that during the implementation process, it is necessary to study and integrate the development goals of the CLV Development Triangle into the national and local socio-economic development plans; Prioritize the allocation of national budget resources (public investment) to implement projects in the region; Encourage and have mechanisms to attract resources from the private sector; Research and orient ODA projects of Vietnam and Cambodia in appropriate fields for implementation in the CLV Development Triangle.

Minister Nguyen Chi Dung believes that the success and results of today's Conference will contribute significantly to promoting the implementation as well as building the orientation and cooperation plan of the CLV Development Triangle Area for the following years.

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