From left: Chairman of the Lao National Assembly’s External Relations Committee Eksavang Vongvichit, chairman of the Vietnamese NA’s Committee for External Affairs Nguyễn Văn Giàu, and chairman of the Cambodian NA’s Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Information and Media Chheang Vun after signing a joint statement on development projects among the three countries in Quảng Ninh Province on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

QUẢNG NINH — Cambodia, Laos and Việt Nam (CLV) are set to promote the traditional solidarity and friendship among their parliaments and step up joint projects in the CLV Development Triangle Area, according to a joint statement issued on Sunday.

The message came from a two-day conference held in Việt Nam’s northern province of Quảng Ninh over the weekend, which was the seventh conference between the external relations committees of the three countries’ parliaments.
According to the document, the meeting highly valued the three sides’ achievements in border demarcation, border marker planting and increasing, fighting cross-border crime, and ensuring security in border areas.
The officials highlighted the importance of stronger coordination between the CLV’s parliaments and governments, along with activities to enhance cooperation among their people and businesses.
The committees for external relations reiterated the commitment to effectively realising the joint statements adopted at their previous conferences, boosting ties in legislative and supervisory activities, and supervising the issues of shared concern of the countries.
They will also advance cooperation in managing water and forest resources, adapting to and mitigating climate change, ensuring cyber security, training human resources, and regularly sharing information on the website of the CLV Development Triangle Area.
The joint statement also called on the three governments to work more closely to prevent cross-border trafficking of forest products and drugs.
It underlined the importance of mobilising support from development partners and international financial institutions to serve economic, social and cultural development in the region, especially in implementing the plan to connect the three economies until 2030.
The committee for external relations, international cooperation, information and communications of the Cambodian parliament will host the eighth conference in 2021, according to the statement.
The CLV Development Triangle Area groups 13 provinces, comprising four Cambodian provinces (Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, Mondulkiri and Kratie), four Lao provinces (Attapeu, Salavan, Sekong and Champasak), and five Vietnamese provinces (Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông and Bình Phước).
They cover 144,300sq.km, or 19.3 per cent of the three countries’ combined area, and house seven million people – 6.1 per cent of their total population. — VNS