In the spirit of friendly neighbourliness and reliable partnership, Viet Nam wants to make positive contributions to the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) framework.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the statement at the opening of the 4th ACMECS Summit in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh yesterday.
Since its inception in 2003, ACMECS co-operation had reaped a wide range of encouraging results and supplemented other co-operation frameworks that were being implemented in the Mekong sub-region and Southeast Asia, he said.
Dung said the ACMECS co-operation mechanism had been constantly strengthened and expanded but many areas of potential co-operation had yet to be fully tapped.
Following the opening ceremony, Dung empowered Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc to attend the debate session and related activities.
The 4th ACMECS Summit reviewed co-operation activities implemented since the 3rd summit and put forward directions and measures to make ACMECS co-operation more practical in the years to come.
Attendees applauded efforts by member nations to establish a new co-operation mechanism on the environment and its establishment of a Working Group on Environmental Co-operation, which is co-chaired by Viet Nam and Cambodia.
The summit adopted the Phnom Penh Declaration and the ACMECS Plan of Action for the 2010-12 period, affirming the resolve to step up ACMECS co-operation for peace, stability and prosperity in the sub-region. Delegates agreed to hold the 5th ACMECS Summit in Laos in 2012.
An ACMECS Business Forum was held on the sidelines of the summit, drawing the participation of more than 350 companies from the member nations, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Business representatives explored investment and co-operation opportunities, and recommended solutions to improve the investment environments in ACMECS countries. They also held a dialogue with high-ranking leaders of the member nations.
Later in the day, Dung and his entourage left Phnom Penh, wrapping up their official visit to Cambodia which included attending the 6th Cambodia-Laos-Viet Nam Summit, the 5th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Viet Nam Summit and the 4th ACMECS.
Development push
A one-day summit between the leaders of Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam (CLV) on Tuesday agreed to push harder for a border development triangle that was politically stable and economically dynamic.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his two counterparts revised the planning framework for the triangle, which is made up of 13 border provinces.
The leaders also signed an agreement on preferential policies for the special area. However, Dung admitted that the triangle had failed to turn around socio-economic development.
He said infrastructure... development remained slow and that there were insufficient human resources to carry out projects.
Dung called on the three governments to pay special attention to the plan and give higher priority to regional development.
The initiative for an Indochina development triangle was raised at a summit in Vientiane, Laos, in October, 1999. It was aimed at strengthening solidarity and co-operation in socio-economic development and maintaining stability and security along borders between the three countries.
The triangle area initially consisted of 10 border provinces. Three more were admitted at the fourth meeting of the Joint Co-ordination Committee in 2009.
The Vietnamese entourage, including leaders of ministries and industries, also met the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia to discuss problems for Vietnamese enterprises wanting to boost investment in the Angkor Wat area.
The association reported that Vietnamese investment in Cambodia during the past year funded 60 projects capitalised at more than US$900 million. This was a four-fold increase in projects and a six-fold increase in investment over the previous year and makes Viet Nam third among foreign investors.
Investment is focused mainly on finance, banking, aviation, agriculture, energy and mining.
Two-way trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia is doing well. The recent inauguration of Cambodia Angkor Air, a joint venture between the Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines, is also helping to boost tourism between the two countries.
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