April 15, 2024
VIENTIANE – Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam to promote trade, investment and tourism
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam (CLTV) have agreed to continue cooperation on trade, investment and tourism in order to speed up development of the East-West Economic Corridor and triangle area.
Officials from the four countries convened at a forum held in Champassak province on Wednesday, chaired by the Governor of Champassak province, Dr Vilayvong Bouddakham, and the Vietnamese Consul General to Pakxe city, Nguyen Van Trung, along with leaders from various authorities, businesses, and CLTV associations.
Speaking at the event, Nguyen Van Trung said the forum was instrumental in enhancing the friendly relations between Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and especially the great relationship, special unity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.
The meeting also serves to strengthen ties between Champassak and provinces and cities in central and southern Vietnam, making links with Laos’ four southern provinces more stable and robust, he added.
Champassak province is located in the centre of the Eastern Economic Corridor which runs from Myanmar through the northeastern provinces of Thailand, the southern provinces of Laos, and the central provinces of Vietnam.
The Corridor lies at the centre of the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle and is part of the East-West Economic Corridor.
The East-West Economic Corridor was initiated in 1998 with the goal of increasing economic cooperation and promoting trade, investment and development between member countries in order to reduce the cost of transport; facilitate the transport of goods; and foster the development of local areas along the East-West Economic Corridor.
“The forum is an important opportunity for us to exchange and share opinions on increasing comprehensive cooperation, especially within the framework of our four countries,” Dr Vilayvong said.
Laos, and especially the Champassak Provincial Leaders’ Committee, enjoys close relations with CLV and CLTV leaders in fulfilling cooperation framework agreements, he added.
“Successful implementation of these agreements contributes to national level cooperation, which enables us to fulfil and deepen cooperation programmes and better promote investment, trade, tourism and connectivity. For the first time, we have been able to create mutual understanding about the need to enhance our economic and socio-cultural ties so that they become stronger going forward,” Dr Vilayvong said.
During the forum, representatives of provinces and cities in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand reported on their respective potential, strengths, investment opportunities and preferential policies that are seen as conducive to investment.
Meeting participants also discussed ways to uniformly develop investment, trade, tourism and connectivity and standardise forms of assistance and cooperation in various fields of development, to ensure future success.