The 4th CLMV Summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) took place in Hanoi on Nov. 6 under the chairmanship of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Prominent at the event were also Cambodian PM Hun Sen, Lao PM Buasone Bouphavanh, Myanmar PM Thein Sein and ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Soeung Ratechavy.
Opening the summit, PM Dung said that complex changes in the global economy has created new challenges to all countries, including the CLMV nations. With their low positions of departure and limited developmental level, CLMV members are prone to being affected by any adverse economic changes, both globally and regionally, he said.
Therefore, it is necessary to promote cooperation between CLMV countries in order to accelerate socio-economic development in each country, speed up economic cooperation within ASEAN member nations and minimise negative impacts from external sources, he added.
The PM affirmed that the 4th CLMV Summit offers an opportunity for the four countries to discuss concrete measures to bring into full play their potentials and advantages to promote cooperation along the principles of equality, mutual benefit and development in each country.
The Cambodian, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese PMs were pleased at the encouraging steps of development in CLMV cooperation over the recent past, with cooperation mechanisms taking form and a new stage of cooperation being reached, in which concrete projects are implemented.
They praised the outcomes of the implementation of the Vientiane Declaration 2004 on enhancing cooperation and economic integration among CLMV countries and the 2005 CLMV Plan of Action in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, industry, energy, transport, information technology, telecoms, tourism and human resources development.
Recent progress in regional and international cooperation, particularly the acceleration of the work on a roadmap to establish an ASEAN economic community and enhancement of the Greater Mekong Sub-region cooperation, provided more opportunities for CLMV countries to expand their cooperation, they said.
The PMs agreed to promote socio-economic development and regional economic integration, as well as cooperation in trade and investment among the four countries, while quickly narrowing the developmental gap between CLMV countries and other countries in the ASEAN community in order to effectively contribute to the ASEAN economic community.
They unanimously agreed to adopt a list of 58 CLMV cooperation projects and assigned senior officials to select and decide upon preferential projects to seek investment in.
The summit praised the CLMV scholarship scheme initiated by Vietnam for Cambodian, Lao and Myanmar students.
The PMs signed a Joint Statement of the 4th CLMV Summit, affirming their political commitment and determination to promote CLMV cooperation and put forth orientations and concrete solutions to further accelerate CLMV cooperation.
The 5th CLMV Summit will be held in Cambodia in 2010.

Source: VNA