Việt Nam-Laos-Cambodia parliamentary cooperation strengthened

Vice Chairwoman of the Lao NA Sounthone Xayachak grants an interview to the Vietnam News Agency. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The first high-level meeting among the National Assemblies (NA) of Cambodia, Laos, and Việt Nam (CLV), to be held in Vientiane in the next few days, aims to enhance the friendship, solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation among the three countries, including their legislative bodies, Vice Chairwoman of the Lao NA Sounthone Xayachak said.

In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency in the capital city of Vientiane, Laos, Vice Chairwoman of the Lao NA Sounthone Xayachak stated that it is an honour for the Lao NA to host the first high-level meeting, an important event in the histories of the three NAs.

Since 2009, the three NAs have rotationally held annual committee-level meetings such as those among the committees for external relations; defence – security; and planning, finance, and auditing. At the sixth session of the committees for external relations in Laos in 2018, they agreed to hold their meeting biennially.

From October 17 to 21, 2022, the three committees for external relations held a consultation to discuss the organisation of a high-level meeting among the three NAs. Also last year, the three NA leaders signed a joint statement approving the upgrade of the committee-level meeting to the one at the NA chairperson level.

The official said the coming high-level meeting is intended to promote the NAs’ role in supervising, encouraging, and stepping up the implementation of the cooperation agreements, programmes, and projects signed among the CLV Governments, along with the multilateral deals to which the three countries are parties. It will boost the sharing of information, experience, and lessons about activities and the roles of the NAs.

The event will also discuss and integrate the targets of the CLV Development Triangle Area into socio-economic development plans of the countries and their localities through the state budget allocation and the mobilisation of investment from domestic sources and international development partners to the Development Triangle Area and others.

The meeting, which will focus on strengthening the parliaments’ role in promoting comprehensive cooperation among Cambodia, Laos, and Việt Nam, will look into three cooperation fields, namely politics – diplomacy; economy, culture, and society; and defence -security, she continued.

Suggesting measures for enhancing cooperation to boost the countries’ economic integration to secure sustainable development, the Vice Chairwoman of the Lao NA stated that the three NAs should work together to accelerate the implementation of the cooperation agreements, programmes, and projects signed among the CLV Governments, as well as the multilateral deals to which their countries are parties. 

The parliaments need to keep strengthening defence – security cooperation to guarantee borders of peace, friendship, and sustainable development cooperation. They should also continue encouraging the legislators of the provinces located in the Development Triangle Area to share opinions and monitor and report outstanding and urgent problems to the three countries’ NAs and Governments.

The official pointed out the need to establish NA friendship committees at the local level in the CLV Development Triangle Area and rotationally host annual meetings to review the implementation of cooperation agreements in the area. Besides, it is also necessary to step up mutual visits by leaders of governmental and legislative agencies to turn the Development Triangle Area into an area of peace, friendship, and sustainable development cooperation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Bá Hùng in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency ahead of NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ’s visit to Laos to attend the first Cambodia-Laos-Việt Nam (CLV) Parliamentary Summit and pay a working visit to the country. — VNA/VNS Photo

Ahead of NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ’s visit to Laos to attend the first Cambodia-Laos-Việt Nam (CLV) Parliamentary Summit and pay a working visit to the country from December 4 to 7, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyễn Bá Hùng stated that the upgrade of the high-level meeting has helped perfect the cooperation mechanism among the three NAs.

In addition, it has enhanced the mechanism for meetings and working sessions between the leaders of the three countries. This is particularly unique and perhaps unparalleled in the solidarity relations among the three Indochinese countries.

Upgrading the conference to a meeting mechanism among the three NAs has also met the requirements and demands of the new situation.

The upgrade of the committee-level meeting to the one at the NA chairperson level has brought significant importance for the NAs, he stressed.

It contributes effectively to implementing the foreign policies of each country, including promoting the trilateral cooperation through parliamentary channels.

It helps strengthen the friendship and comprehensive cooperation, promoting the exchange and sharing of information and legislative supervision experience among the three NAs.

It enhances monitoring of the implementation of cooperation agreements and projects signed between the governments of CLV, as well as coordinating the implementation of multilateral agreements among the three member countries.

And finally, it strengthens exchanges on ways to coordinate activities to mobilise funding from internal and external partners in the CLV region for the implementation of projects in the CLV Development Triangle Area and other priority areas of cooperation for the three countries, he said. — VNS