The 3rd Summit of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) among five countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam shall be held on 7th November 2008 in Hanoi. The Prime Minister assigned Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to organise two events in the margin of the Summit which are ACMECS Business Forum and the Dialogue between ACMECS’s leaders and the business community.
The ACMECS Business Forum shall be held for the first time to give chance to businesses to discuss and give out proposals and initiatives for the purpose of doing favor for trading, investment, tourism activities and promoting regional economic cooperation. Any proposal and initiative of businesses taking part in the Forum shall be directly reported to the Prime Ministers of the five ACMECS countries in the Dialogue.
ACMECS, fully named the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, was founded on November 1003 at the initiative of Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to promote economic cooperation in the Continental South East Asia. The objectives of this initiative are to bridge the economic gap among the four countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand), and to promote prosperity in the sub-region in a sustainable manner. Such prosperity will not only benefit the four countries, but also add value to ASEAN and its solidarity. Stronger Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand will also mean stronger ASEAN. It is in this way that the new cooperation framework will act as a building block and move ASEAN forward at a more even pace, on the basis of self-reliance and shared prosperity.
The joining of Vietnam to the group on 10th May 2004 has made ACMECS complete with 5 member countries. The emphasis of ACMECS is on using self-help and partnership to achieve sustainable development, including poverty reduction, in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals
According to VCCI, the noteworthy events shall be the Signing Ceremony of the 3rd Summit of ACMECS’s Joint Statement and other related documents including the MOU between Vietnam and Thailand on vocational training for ACMECS member countries; the agreement among Laos, Thailand and Vietnam on land-way tourism activities; the Agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on cultivation under contract and the Agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on ACMECS common visa.
The Dialogue between ACMECS’s leaders and the Business Community shall be attended by Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affaires, Head of the SOM ACMECS, all official delegates and representatives of businesses.
The Forum shall draw the attendance of about 400 businesses from ACMECS countries, international organisations, big investors from Japan, Korea, EU and the US... So, this shall be an opportunity for Vietnam’s businesses to meet with investors in and outside ACMECS to set up relationship, exchanges and seek for cooperation opportunities.
Lan Anh
Vietnamese
