1. We, the Heads of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic republic, the Union of Myanmar and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (hereafter referred to as CLMV), gathered for the Fifth CLMV Summit on 16th November 2010, in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, which was also participated by the Secretary General of ASEAN.
2. We reviewed the implementation of the projects agreed upon at the 4th CLMV Summit in Hanoi, Viet Nam on 6th November 2008, and exchanged views on the future direction of the CLMV cooperation in line with the Vientiane Declaration on Enhancing the Economic Cooperation and Integration among CLMV countries, signed on 28th November 2004, and its Plan of Action.
3. We noted with satisfaction the smooth progress in the CLMV cooperation, which would not only be a practical evidence for the efforts of the CLMV countries in nurturing and strengthening their traditional cooperation relations and friendship, but also make positive contributions to peace, stability, and integration within the Mekong Sub-region and the entire region as a whole.
4. We highly valued the efforts of our Senior Officials at the CLMV SOM Meetings, in Phnom Penh, on 23rd August 2010 and on 14th November 2010, in prioritizing CLMV projects, and we agreed to adopt a list of those prioritized projects to be submitted to the ASEAN Secretariat and Dialogue Partners for funding consideration.
5. In trade and investment cooperation, we agreed that efforts should be made to implement all existing agreements between and among the CLMV countries in order to promote trade and investment. We welcomed the successful outcome of the First CLMV Economic Ministers’ Meeting held in August 2010 in Da Nang, Viet Nam.
6. In transport cooperation, we agreed to further strengthen close coordination to make best use of economic corridors across the CLMV countries, particularly the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) under the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) cooperation and tasked the Working Group on Transportation to find ways and means to conduct, as soon as possible, the studies of road links from Hanoi-Tay Trang (Viet Nam) to Oudomxay-Luang Namtha (Laos) and Yangon (Myanmar) to facilitate trade, investment and tourism within the CLMV countries. We welcomed the upgrading of the road No. 2E from Muong Khoa (Laos) to Tay Trang (Viet Nam) as part of the road links.
7. In agricultural and forestry cooperation, we agreed to enhance cooperation to exchange information and technologies, and to develop joint-research in the fields of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries. We also agreed to cooperate closer among CLMV countries in order to materialize implementation of the proposed projects.
8. In tourism cooperation, we tasked the national tourism authorities of the CLMV countries to implement tourism activities and facilitate travel within the four countries. We also considered the possibility of opening direct air l inks connecting CLMV major cities as well as the cultural and natural heritage sites in the CLMV countries and agreed to further upgrade travel facilities in order to attract more international and intraregional visitors to CLMV countries. We welcomed the CLMV Cultural Ministers’ Meeting convened on 23rd January 2010 in Nay Pyi Taw, the Union of Myanmar during which the Nay Pyi Taw Initiative on Cultural Connectivity among CLMV was adopted, highlighting cultural cooperation among relevant authorities of CLMV.
9. In human resource development, we appreciated the exchange of scholarship, visits and experiences in many fields of development amongst all CLMV countries. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar expressed their sincere thanks to the Government of Viet Nam for providing scholarships as well as training courses to CLM countries.
10. Bearing in mind that closer cooperation among the CLMV countries is conducive to comprehensive regional integration, we agreed to enhance our close coordination at the sub-regional and regional levels, particularly in Greater Mekong Sub-region and ASEAN cooperation frameworks in order to strengthen our common positions for the benefits of the CLMV countries and for the whole ASEAN region. In this regard, we should work collectively to include the CLMV cooperation projects in sub-regional and regional frameworks, especially the Initiative for ASEAN Integration.
11. We particularly expressed our thanks to the Government of Japan for providing USD 20 million for CLMV countries under Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). At the same time, we called upon ASEAN and other development partners, especially the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and India, to support and assist in realizing the CLMV development projects.
12. We stressed the importance of private sector in development activities, and agreed to encourage the private sector to participate in the implementation of CLMV projects.
13. We urged the Working Group of each sector of cooperation to convene its respective meeting more regularly in order to discuss the implementation of the projects under its respective purview. We also agreed that the SOM Meeting should be held in preparation for the CLMV Summit, and if necessary, more SOM meetings can be arranged, in the country which chairs the CLMV Summit.
14. We tasked our Ministers and SOM leaders to ensure the successful implementation of this Joint Statement and report progress to their respective Head of Government.
15. We also agreed that the 6th CLMV Summit will be held in 2012 in Lao PDR.
16. The Heads of Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Union of Myanmar and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam expressed their sincere thanks and appreciation to the Royal Government of Cambodia for the excellent arrangement for the Fifth CLMV Summit and warm hospitality during the Summit in Phnom Penh.
Adopted on 16th November 2010, In Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia.
