Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a trilateral meeting with his Laotian and Cambodian counterparts in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday to discuss measures to strengthen their longstanding relationships, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The summit reviewed and advanced agreements established earlier that day during a meeting between To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam; Hun Sen, President of the Cambodian People's Party and President of the Cambodian Senate; and Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos.

During their discussions, Chinh, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed satisfaction with the steady progress of trilateral cooperation in recent years.

PM Chinh highlighted the successful outcomes of past high-level meetings and senior leaders' visits, affirming that key tasks have been effectively implemented.

The leaders underscored the strategic importance of their deep-rooted friendship, solidarity, and mutual trust. They were committed to strengthening collaboration in national security, development, and governance.

A consensus was reached to enhance cooperation in security and defense, including joint efforts to safeguard borders and combat transnational crimes such as drug and human trafficking, as well as money laundering.

Reaffirming their commitment to regional stability, the prime ministers agreed that no individual or group should be allowed to use one country’s territory to threaten the security of another. They pledged to work together to build peaceful, friendly, and economically thriving border regions.

On economic matters, the leaders discussed policies to facilitate trade and investment, particularly in cross-border commerce. They also pledged to strengthen transportation infrastructure links as a way to enhance economic connectivity.

Recognizing the potential of tourism, the prime ministers endorsed a cooperative mechanism among their countries’ ministers of culture and tourism to develop a unified tourism initiative under the model ‘One Journey, Three Destinations.’

The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining high-level exchanges across all sectors, strengthening ties among localities, especially border provinces, and promoting people-to-people exchanges.

Additionally, they agreed to implement existing cooperation mechanisms more effectively, enhance information sharing, align policies, and foster inter-agency collaboration.

They stressed the need to continue youth exchanges and leadership training programs to educate younger generations on the historical significance of trilateral cooperation.

The summit also addressed regional issues of mutual concern, with the leaders agreeing to coordinate efforts to uphold the unity and centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) while promoting cooperation within the Mekong sub-region.

Vietnam established diplomatic relations with Laos and Cambodia on September 5, 1962, and June 24, 1967, respectively.

The three countries are part of the 10-member ASEAN, along with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

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