Siem Reap (VNA) –The Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) signed a Joint Declaration at the end the 9th Summit of the CLV Development Triangle Area in Siem Reap, Cambodia on November23.

The following is the full text of the joint declaration.

WE, the Heads of theGovernments of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republicand the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (hereinafter referred to as CLV) gatherfor the Ninth CLV Summit on 23rd November 2016, in Siem Reap City,Kingdom of Cambodia;

REITERATING our commitments to the sustainable and inclusive development of CLV DevelopmentTriangle Area (DTA), reducing poverty and economic and social disparities, and improving the quality of life for people living inDTA;

REAFFIRMING our commitments tofurther strengthening and deepening comprehensive cooperation and developmentamong CLV countries building upon our traditional relations of friendship,solidarity, mutually-beneficial cooperation, and good neighbourliness;

REAFFIRMING our commitments to working closely with other ASEAN Member States for the realization of ASEAN Community Vision 2025;

NOTING the progress and challenges in implementing of theRevised Master Plan for socio-economic development of the CLV DTA for 2010-2020since the 8th CLV Summit in Vientiane in 2014;

RECOGNIZING the need to make better use of development potentials and available resources of CLV countries, andmobilize technical and financial assistance from developmentpartners and international institutions;

WEHEREBY DECLARE THAT:

We reaffirm our commitments to working closely to promote the relationship and cooperation of the CLV DTA on the basis of our traditional friendship, mutual understanding, trust and comprehensive cooperation.

We highly value the work and efforts of the CLV Joint Coordination Committee to implement the Revised Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the CLV DTA for 2010-2020 and highly appreciate the outcomes of the 10th Meeting of the CLV DTA Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and relevant meetings held on 7-11 December 2015 in Pakse City, Champasak Province, Lao PDR.

We appreciate the active participation of the CLV countries’ ministries/agencies and provincial authorities in all CLV DTA events that took place from 7-11 December 2015 in Pakse City, Champasak Province. We encourage the CLV countries to continue and increase those activities in order to foster cooperation among people and business communities in the CLV DTA.

We commend on the outcomes of the Youth Forum, the Trade and Tourism Fair and the Conference on Trade, Investment and Tourism Promotion in CLV DTA held on 7-11 December 2015 in Pakse, Champasak Province, Lao PDR. We encourage the youth, business community and private sector to continue actively participating in the Youth Forum and the Trade and Tourism Fairs as well as trade, investment and tourism promotion events among CLV countries in order to promote youth exchange and interaction and enhance trade, investment and tourism flows into the CLV DTA.

We welcome the outcomes of the Second and Third Meetings of Committees/Commission on National Defence and Security of the National Assembly of the CLV Countries on 28th September 2015 in Pakse, Champasak Province, Lao PDR and on 21st September 2016 in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Viet Nam, respectively. 

We reaffirm the importance of ensuring security, safety and stable environment for investors, tourists and residents in the CLV DTA. We will strengthen our cooperation to fight against drugs and human trafficking, cross-border crimes, terrorism and to conduct clearance of landmines, unexploded ordnance and explosive remnant of war. We task relevant authorities to work closely in organizing capacity building and exchange programmes in dealing with above mentioned issues.

We welcome Japan and other development partners for their continued assistance to regional development for the Mekong countries including the CLV DTA in the coming years in the areas of removal of landmines and disposal of unexploded ordnance (UXO), disabilities aid, and disaster and emergency medical care.

We reaffirm our commitments to implement, where applicable, the bilateral and multilateral agreements on movement of goods and people in the CLV DTA, particularly the Cross Border Transport Agreement (CBTA) under the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 has further enhanced the free flow of goods, services, investment and freer flow of capital in the region.  In this connection, we welcome the conclusion of the negotiations and the signing of the Agreement on Trade Promotion and Facilitation for Cambodia-Laos-Viet Nam Development Triangle Area. We are committed to fruitfully implement this Agreement with the aim to facilitate trade and investment activities in CLV DTA as the way to bridge the development gaps between CLV DTA and other regions.

We welcome the Tripartite Opening Ceremony on Cross-Border Transport Operation, held in Hoa Lu, Binh Phuoc Province, Viet Nam and Trapeang Sre, Kratie Province, Cambodia on 9th September 2015 in line with the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between and among the Governments of Cambodia- Laos-Viet Nam on Road Transport.

We welcome the results of the 11th SOM and related Meetings on CLV DTA held in Dak Nong Province, Viet Nam on 31st October and 1st November 2016.

We highly appreciate the outcome of the Study Report on developing Rubber Industry Development Plan and task the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam, to draft the Rubber Industry Development Plan to be submitted to the 10th CLV Summit. We encourage relevant ministries and agencies to seek the support from development partners in developing the Plan.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to environmental protection and to the effective use and management of natural resources, including water resources and forest, for sustainable development in each country and the entire CLV DTA. In this regard, we encourage localities and relevant agencies to continue incorporating issues related to the environment and sustainable development into the cooperation agenda of the three countries; and develop joint programmes in area such as, hydrometeorology, climate change adaptation and mitigation, water management and geology.

We recognize the urgent need for more engagement of the business community and private sector for the development of the CLV DTA. We task the JCC to further implement the revised MOU towards the Formulation of Special Preferential Policies for the CLV DTA in order to create a more favourable environment for business and investment in the CLV DTA.
We emphasize the potential of tourism development in the DTA, especially community-based tourism, eco-tourism and cultural tourism. We encourage the facilitation of travel and tourism as well as promoting three countries one destination. We task the JCC to establish the task force comprising of CLV representatives to draft and finalize the CLV DTA Tourism Development Plan and submit it to the 10th CLV Summit for consideration and approval.
We highly appreciate the efforts of the three countries’ task forces in developing an Action Plan for CLV Economic Connectivity up to 2030. We task the JCC and relevant ministries/agencies to make effort to finalize the Action Plan on connectivity and to submit it to the 11th JCC for consideration and approval.

We acknowledge the importance of regularly updating information on the CLV website by the three countries. We task the JCC and relevant ministries/agencies to upgrade technology for the website.

We would like to express our appreciation to the development partners and international financial institutions for their continued contribution to the development of the CLV DTA. In this regard, we call for more financial and technical assistance from development partners and international institutions for the development of the CLV DTA. We also agree to strengthen the collaboration between CLV DTA and other cooperation frameworks in the Mekong Sub-region, in particular the Mekong – Japan Cooperation.

We highly appreciate the effort of the CLV Countries in preparing and finalizing the 15 Priority Projects that have been submitted to this 9th CLV Summit and we duly endorse this priority projects for future implementation.

We agree to hold the 10th CLV Summit in Viet Nam in 2018.

Done in Siem Reap City, Kingdom of Cambodia in threecopies in the English language, on the Day of Twenty-Three in the Month ofNovember in the Year of Two Thousand and Sixteen.-VNA