The Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam Development Triangle Area (CLV-DTA; ; ) is a growth triangle in the southern part of the

Greater Mekong Subregion The Greater Mekong Subregion, (GMS) or just Greater Mekong, is a trans-national region of the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia. The region is home to more than 300 million people. It came into being with the launch of a development program i ...

. The cooperation initiative was initiated in 1999 by the leaders of

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and formalized in 2004. It aims to strengthen trilateral cooperation, promote stability and security, reduce poverty and foster socio-economic growth and development of the border regions of the three countries through transportation infrastructure and the promotion of trade, as well as the prevention of natural resource and cross-border crimes. Currently, the CLV-DTA comprises 13 border provinces within the three countries of which four ( Ratanakiri,

Stung Treng Stung Treng City (, "reed river"; , , Lao: ຊຽງແຕງ) is the capital of Stung Treng Province, Cambodia. It is the major city (and capital) of both the district and province. Geography Stung Treng is located on the Sesan River near it ...

, Kratié and Mondulkiri) are in Cambodia, four (

Attapeu Attapeu (, ), also written as Attopu or Attapu, is a town in southern Laos, serving as the capital of Attapeu province. Its official name is Muang Samakhi Xay. It is the southernmost of provincial capitals in Laos. Most of the inhabitants are La ...

, Salavan,

Sekong Sekong (or ''Xekong''; , ) is the capital city of Sekong Province, Sekong District, Laos. It was created in 1984 after it was ascertained that Ban Phon's unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and un ...

and Champasak) in Laos and five (

Kon Tum Kon Tum is the capital city of Kon Tum Province in Vietnam. It is located inland in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Historically, this area has been inhabited by the indigenous Ba Na people, whic ...

, Đắk Lắk,

Gia Lai Gia Lai is a northern mountainous province in the Central Highlands region, the Central of Vietnam. It borders Kon Tum in the north, Quảng Ngãi in the northeast, Bình Định in the east, Phú Yên in the southeast, Đắk Lắk in t ...

Đăk Nông Đắk Nông, anglicized as Daknong, was a former southern mountainous province in the Central Highlands region, the Central of Vietnam. It borders Đắk Lắk to the north, Lâm Đồng to the southeast, Bình Phước and Mondulkiri of Ca ...

and Bình Phước) in Vietnam. A ministerial-level meeting of the three countries is held at least once a year and a prime minister-level meeting is held once every two years.

History

On 20 October 1999, the three prime ministers

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

(Cambodia),

Sisavath Keobounphanh Sisavath Keobounphanh ( Lao: ສີສະຫວາດ ແກ້ວບຸນພັນ; 1 May 1928 – 12 May 2020) was Vice President of Laos from 1996 to 1998 and third Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Laos from 1998 to 20 ...

(Laos) and

Phan Văn Khải Phan Văn Khải (; 25 December 1933 – 17 March 2018) was a Vietnamese politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam from 25 September 1997 until his resignation on 27 June 2006. He was considered to be a technocratic, innovat ...

(Vietnam) held the first unofficial summit in

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

and reached an agreement on building a "Development Triangle". After the third unofficial summit on 20–21 July 2004 in

Siem Reap Siem Reap (, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap possesses French-colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter ...

, the three prime ministers Hun Sen,

Bounnhang Vorachit Bounnhang Vorachit (; born 15 August 1937) is a Laotian politician. He was previously General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos from 2016 to 2021. Early life Bounnhang Vorachit joined the Pathet Lao resistan ...

and Phan Văn Khải met at Vientiane and declared the establishment of the CLV-DTA. Originally, the development triangle covered 10 border provinces: Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri and

of Cambodia,

, Salavan and

of Laos and Đắk Lắk,

and

of Vietnam. At the fourth official summit in

Da Lat Da Lat, or Dalat (; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

on 4–5 December 2006, the three prime ministers decided to establish the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for the CLV-DTA. At the fourth JCC meeting held in Đắk Lắk on 21–22 December 2009, the three countries agreed to include three more provinces: Kratié of Cambodia, Champasak of Laos and Bình Phước of Vietnam, adding up to a total of 13 border provinces. In September 2024, Cambodia announced its withdrawal from the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area Greater Mekong Subregion Economy of Cambodia Economy of Laos Economy of Vietnam Cambodia–Vietnam relations Cambodia–Laos relations Laos–Vietnam relations Trilateral relations 2004 establishments in Cambodia 2004 establishments in Laos 2004 establishments in Vietnam Cambodia–Laos border Cambodia–Vietnam border Laos–Vietnam border

History

See also

References