As part of the cooperation projects between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany supporting Vietnam and regional countries to implement international economic integration, a seminar on cooperation between the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) themed "International economic integration for sustainable development in the new global architecture" was recently held in Hanoi.
This important workshop coincided with ASEAN’s acceleration of ASEAN Community construction before 2015. It encourages the four countries to boost integration with ASEAN countries to narrow the development gap, and helps the CLMV countries enhance their cooperation in the face of a changing world.
Prospect of positive sub-regional cooperation
Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung affirmed that in the context of the changing region and world, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam should continue to take part in the process of international economic integration. Close cooperation and policy coordination will pay an important role in building the ASEAN Community, and realising the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable socioeconomic development plans of each country in the region and the world.
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Vu Khoan said international relations in the first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed fast, broad and deep changes, leading to the inclusive restructuring of world economies and to the movement of national and regional strengths in security and politics. In this context, CLMV has no other way than endeavouring to self-improve, stepping up regional links on different ladders like ASEAN, and enlisting cooperation with foreign countries in protecting their own sovereignty and legitimate interests.
Mr Tomoyuki Kimura, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam, spoke highly of the prospects of sub-regional cooperation, including Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), Indonesia - Malaysia - Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). The GMS programme implementation achieved good results, with a total of 55 projects and US$14 trillion deployed to promote diversity of economic development scales and levels, step up economic links, and integrate the markets of member countries. In addition, it allows countries to solve common bottlenecks that hinder the cross-border movement of goods, people and capital. ADB pledged to continue cooperating closely with the four countries and support existing sub-regional cooperation mechanisms to assist countries to realise progress in international economic integration and sustainable development objectives.
Asia-Pacific economic links enhanced
Speaking about Asia - Pacific economic links, Mr Vanarith Chheang, a member of the Supreme National Economic Council, stressed that this linkage is very important for future prospects of the regional and global economies. Asia - Pacific economies, especially ASEAN + 3 economies, are leading the world’s economic recovery by adopting effective fiscal stimulus packages.
Asia - Pacific region saw a V-shape recovery in 2010, growing 8.8 percent. Despite strong growth prospects in 2011, risks are still lurking in the region because of rising prices, especially food and oil prices. Mr Vanarith Chheang said that to strengthen Asia - Pacific economic links and take advantage of cooperation benefits, each country needs to complete single-window processes, allowing businesspeople to provide information, pay taxes and receive permits online. However, the full benefits of the one-stop-shop mechanism will not be available until authorities in partner countries accept electronic data and documents from other ones. Non-trade links in Asia - Pacific sub-regions show the drive for deeper regional integration - not only single sub-region integration, but also pan-region trade promotion.
CLMV economies have proved resilient to global economic shocks. They are recovering with good growth signals after experiencing negative impacts of the global economic downturn in 2009. In addition to regional economic integration, the rapid recovery results from the diversity of CLMV economies, evolving from merely agricultural economies into economies of agriculture, industry and services. The proportion of agriculture in the GDP of CLMV economies is shrinking, while services and industry account for rising proportions.
Nguyen Mai
Vietnamese
