Laos, Cambodia agree to maintain peace at border

Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia yesterday for a two day official visit aiming to discuss a range of cooperation issues with his Cambodian counterpart including the maintenance of peace at the border. 
Upon his arrival, the Lao premier attended an official welcome ceremony and bilateral talks with his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen, according to a media statement from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Thongloun expressed thanks to the Cambodian government for the warm welcome and hospitality given to the

Lao delegation. He also described the meeting of the top Lao-Cambodian government officials as an important milestone in the relations and cooperation between the two neighbouring nations.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Thongloun congratulated the Cambodian People’s Party over its recent local election victory, adding that the triumph reflected the trust of the Cambodian people in the leadership of the ruling party and in particular of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
At the meeting, the Lao and Cambodia delegations reviewed past cooperation and set the new direction of their future collaboration. They also discussed a wide range of issues for cooperation including politics, foreign affairs, security-defence, border cooperation, economics, trade and investment.
Lao-Cambodian cooperation in public works and transport, energy and agriculture, fishery, socio culture, education and sport, labour, tourism and health were also key topics, which the two delegations discussed.
According to the media statement, Prime Minister Thongloun and his Cambodian counterpart signed and witnessed the signing of the six cooperation documents between Laos and Cambodia including a revised agreement on Lao-Cambodia energy cooperation, power purchasing agreements and memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation.
After the bilateral meeting and document signing ceremony, the Lao and Cambodian Prime Ministers announced a joint declaration, which reaffirms the two nations’ commitment to strengthening their relations and expanding their cooperation.
In this regard, Laos and Cambodia have agreed to upgrade the current cooperation status into a comprehensive strategic and sustainable partnership. To achieve their cooperation objectives, the two sides agreed to assign relevant sectors to translate the agreement into practice.
One of the critical agreements, which the Lao and Cambodian government reached during the meeting, was that the two countries reaffirmed the need to maintain peace and order in the unsettled border area.
The two sides agreed to remove the military presence in the unsettled area to achieve this objective. In addition, the unresolved border area should be free from the occupation of people as well as other activities. The two sides agreed on joint border land, water and air patrols which can be carried out by drones.
The two sides also agreed that the unsettled border area should be free from any construction or change of landscape until the border demarcation in the area is completed.
The two nations also accepted to demarcate the border, which both sides have already agreed. 
 

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update September 13, 2019)