An overview of the 10th meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee on the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)

Phnom Penh (VNA) – Senior officials of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam met in Kratie province of Cambodia on March 9 to prepare for the 12th meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee on the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area (JCC CLV DTA) that will open on March 10.

The meeting drew the attendance of Cambodian Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce Sok Sopheak, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Le Quang Manh, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh, and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Thongphan Savanphet.

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Le Quang Manh said that representatives of the three countries will propose effective measures and practical initiatives to the heads of the three coordination committees at their meeting on March 10, paving the way for high-level agreements and specific directions to promote the development cooperation in the development triangle.

Currently, cooperation projects in the border areas of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have been underway, especially in hydropower, mining and mineral processing, industrial crop planting and processing, he noted.

Experts held that smooth mechanisms and policies have been provided for the investment and trade partnership in the region.

So far, Vietnam has run 49 projects in the development triangle in Cambodia with total capital of 1.63 billion USD. The country’s investment in the development triangle in Laos is 1.97 billion USD of 67 projects.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s five border provinces in the development triangle have attracted 233 projects from 20 countries and territories with total investment of 2.3 billion USD, said Manh.

However, Manh pointed out that transport upgrade and expansion projects in the region have lagged behind the schedule, while the tripartite cooperation has yet to put effective influence on socio-economic development in border localities, along with limited resources for development investment and shortcomings in trade cooperation, tax policies and investment procedures.

The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area was established in 1999 with the initial membership of 10 provinces: Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong (Vietnam); Sekong, Attapeu, Saravan (Laos); and Rattanakiri, Mondulkiri (Cambodia). Vietnam’s Binh Phuoc province, Laos’ Champasak province and Kratie of Cambodia were added into the group in 2009.

The group aims to strengthen the solidarity and cooperation among the three countries and ensure security, political stability as well as promote poverty reduction and socio-economic development in the area.

The CLV Development Triangle focuses on areas of security-diplomacy, transport, industry, agriculture, trade, investment, social affairs, and environmental protection.

At the 12th meeting of the JCC CLV DTA, Vietnam will send representatives of Dak Nong, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Binh Phuoc provinces as well as a number of ministries.

The meeting will focus on evaluating the implementation of commitments of ministers of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia at the previous meeting, pointing put difficulties and seeking settlement solutions as well as orientation for cooperation of 13 provinces in the development triangle.-VNA