The fourth meeting of
law-makers of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam focusing on the role of
the National Assemblies (NA) in supporting the development triangle
wrapped up in the central province of Nghe An on August 3.
In his closing speech, head of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s
Committee for External Relations Tran Van Hang said the committees of
foreign affairs of the three countries’ legislative bodies discussed the
role of the NAs in supporting the development triangle, shared
experiences and put forth measures for future cooperation activities,
both bilaterally and multilaterally.
The three
legislative bodies play an important role in helping each country’s
government make policies for the development triangle with the aim of
upholding the region’s socio-economic potential and maintaining security
along the borderline of peace, friendship and development, he said.
The
meeting issued a joint statement agreeing on a master plan on
socio-economic development in the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia development
triangle to 2020.
Participants proposed the three
countries accelerate the building and completion of a legal system on
investment and business, policies relating to tax, customs and labour.
Administrative procedures relating to granting investment and business
licences need to be strengthened to provide transparency and
synchronisation from the central to grassroots levels, they said.
They
added the governments of the three countries should give priorities to
the investment in upgrading infrastructure, especially in transport,
electricity, water, communications and irrigation works, and encourage
economic sectors to invest in them.
Delegates also held that
cooperation mechanisms between the three governments’ agencies as well
as localities in the development triangle need to be maintained and
strengthened to remove difficulties for enterprises and local people.
They
also agreed on developing a drug-free environment in the region and
supported the treatment of drug addicts with Vietnamese traditional
medicine.
They proposed the establishment of a sub-committee in
each country’s NA and an action plan for the supervision and support of
the agreed policy implementation.
The fifth meeting of
the Committees of Foreign Affairs of the NAs of Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam will be held in Cambodia in 2013./.VNA