The Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese parliaments should establish a coordinating committee to oversee and promote the development of the three countries’ development triangle, heard a conference.

The proposal came from a host of measures that officials from all three countries’ legislative bodies mapped out in their joint statement issued at the end of the conference on the role of parliament in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle in the Central Highlands of Kon Tum on July 21.

The conference brought together officials from the committee for external affairs of the Cambodian Parliament, the Laos National Assembly and the Vietnam National Assembly.

The other measures included speeding up the implementation of previously signed cooperation agreements tailored for the development triangle in addition to the execution of bilateral accords and agreements regarding land border demarcation and border marker planting.

Meetings of national assembly deputies in localities lying in the development triangle should be encouraged to help further legislative ties.

The three parliaments were also urged to coordinate activities to call for foreign direct investment (FDI) and mobilise official development assistance (ODA) for the construction of essential infrastructural facilities serving the three neighbours’ socio-economic development.

In his closing speech, Chairman of Vietnam National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs Nguyen Van Son underlined the need to increase the traditional friendship, solidarity and all-around cooperation between legislative bodies and people of the three countries.

The second conference of the Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian legislative bodies’ committees for external affairs will take place in Cambodia in 2010./.