Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Seek Aid for Triangular Development

By Soy Sophea

Meetings held last week between the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam were organized to seek foreign aid to help develop the common border shared by the three nations and to improve infrastructure and living conditions for the people who live there.

This is according to Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce, who was speaking to journalists at a press conference on November 28, at Phnom Penh International Airport, following his return from Vientian, Loas.

The Senior Minister shared information about the dialogue between three leaders, whose main purpose was to encourage close friends China, South Korea, and India in supporting regional development. He said that to date, Japan had pledged 20 million US dollars in support of the tripartite development initiative.

The commerce minister added that the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his counterparts Nguyen Tan Dung from Vietnam and Bouasone Bouphavanh from Loas have agreed to construct a business sector forum and propose that the first meeting be held at the next ASEAN summit.

“We want to increase the number of investors in the area by giving them incentives and solve any outstanding or incidental problems,” he quoted the three prime ministers as saying at the meeting on Triangular Border Development, held in Vientian, Laos from November 24-28.
The Senior Minister continued to say that in order to reach the development goal, the member countries have to work doubly hard to develop the infrastructure and human resources.

Both Laos and Vietnam expressed thanks to the Vietnamese government for its great assistance in the field of human resource development. They also agreed to encourage the exchange visits of youth leaders from the three countries and considered organizing youth meetings during the next summit.

However, a postponement of the December 13-18 ASEAN summit in Chiang Mai now seems increasingly likely due to the situation in Thailand, according to Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Long-running anti-government protests in Thailand have led to the closure of its two main airports, sent the Thai Cabinet into hiding and paralyzed its Parliament, leaving fellow ASEAN members increasingly concerned as the summit date approaches.

He noted that on Wednesday, after a summit of leaders from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam held in Laos, Lao Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, speaking for all three of the national leaders, sent a letter to ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.

The letter asked him to consult with Thai and other ASEAN member states on whether the summit schedule should be maintained or postponed.While there is yet to be any official response from Thailand on the matter, Hor Namhong cited media reports that quoted Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat as saying his government would take its ASEAN partners' suggestions into consideration.