In his opening speech, Standing Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and head of the provincial National Assembly delegation U Huan said the festival carries deep political, diplomatic and people-to-people significance and is becoming a traditional fixture. The people of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have stood together through history, shared hardships and given each other wholehearted support in national liberation, construction and defence. That special solidarity is an invaluable spiritual asset that today’s generations must inherit, preserve and uphold.
He said he wants the youth of the three countries to keep nurturing friendship through knowledge, mettle, responsibility, creativity and the aspiration to contribute; serve as connecting bridges and peace envoys, and spread each nation’s country, people and culture to international friends.
Hour Chhunkry, Chairman of the Education, Youth and Sports Committee of the Central Committee of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, said the festival is not only a cultural and art exchange but also a statement of solidarity, brotherhood and close cooperation among the three countries. It is a chance for younger generations to carry forward the friendship heritage built by their predecessors and take trilateral elations further.
Immediately after the opening, delegates attended a seminar on practical ways to raise the youth role in fostering people-to-people exchanges, solidarity and cooperation among the three countries’ border localities.
Lao youth representatives proposed upholding the role of volunteer youth in improving livelihoods and developing border communities. Joint agenda should focus on building and repairing infrastructure, supporting vulnerable groups, community health care, disaster prevention and response, and environmental protection. They should also step up vocational training, technical transfer, sci-tech application in production, and support for young people in accessing capital, expanding markets, creating jobs and developing local livelihoods.
They suggested studying a Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia volunteer youth fund to pool resources and drive cooperation for sustainable development in border areas.
Under the festival, participants will visit key economic projects, local production models, and revolutionary historical sites; plant friendship trees, join cultural and art exchanges, experience Quang Ngai’s nature; and travel to the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia tri-border markers./.
