PANO - Vietnam has started to hold a number of important regional and international events from October 24 to 26, which include the 7th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS 7), the 8th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Summit (CLMV 8) and the World Economic Forum on Mekong (WEF-Mekong).

This is viewed the most significant multilateral activities in 2016. Via these activities, Vietnam wishes to promote its benefits from cooperation with the rest of the Mekong sub-region and strengthen traditional relations with its neighboring countries, contributing to leading the regional mechanisms toward more practical outcomes.

Vietnam also sees this as a good opportunity to popularize its land and people to the rest of the world; to show the respect, sincerity and hospitality of the Vietnamese leadership and people to leaders and people of regional countries; and to attract more foreign investors to the open and highly-profitable market of Vietnam.

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In November 2003, 4 regional countries, namely Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, were summoned at the Bagan Summit on Thailand’s initiative to discuss and then agree on the formation of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS) mechanism. Vietnam officially became a member of ACMECS in November 2004.

ACMECS aims to promote economic cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels among the regional countries so as to bring into full play potentials and strengths of each country, to improve national competitiveness and reduce development gaps between the member countries as well as between the sub-region with the rest of the world.

ACMECS has defined 8 areas of cooperation: trade and investment, health, agriculture, human resources development, industry and energy, transportation, tourism, and environment.

Meanwhile, at the ASEAN-Japan in December 2003 in Tokyo, leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam agreed to set up the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam Summit (CLMV) mechanism. This mechanism was seen as part of the regional countries’ effort to meet the current subjective requirements for cooperation and integration of the Mekong Sub-region and ASEAN.

The biggest obstacle to ASEAN’s integration is evidently the development gap between ASEAN countries, particularly the CLMV members and the rest of the bloc. Therefore, CLMV regionally aims to boost cooperation among the member countries and with other regional countries to narrow the development gap, contributing to accelerating ASEAN integration.

CLMV is developed as an open cooperation mechanism. So member countries enhance their cooperation based on their potentials and strengths on one hand, and call on other ASEAN members and the bloc’s partners to support the CLMV countries.

CLMV focuses its cooperation on six areas: trade and investment, human resources development, agriculture, industry, transportation, and tourism.

Both the above two mechanisms of CLMV and ACMECS for cooperation among countries in the Mekong Sub-region aim to narrow the development gap between countries in ASEAN, and to increase national competitiveness, growth and integration of the member countries, contributing to the building of the ASEAN Community.

Over the past 13 years, the two mechanisms have achieved positive outcomes, contributing to promoting cooperation on trade, economics and investment among the member countries and between the Mekong Sub-region’s countries and other ASEAN member countries and ASEAN’s partners; reducing development gaps among ASEAN countries, and raising the status of the member states in the international arena in their international integration process.

Titled “Toward a Dynamic and Prosperous Mekong Sub-region: Taking Opportunity, Shaping Future,” the ACMECS 7 and CLMV 8 will be a good chance for leaders to review the implementation of the reached action plans, discuss measures to improve competitiveness of their economies, promote regional integration, and respond to common challenges for sustainable development and prosperity of the sub-region.

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum on Mekong (WEF-Mekong) will be held for the first time alongside ACMECS and CLMV. The purpose is to promote the potentials of the sub-region to the international business community.

WEF-Mekong is expected to provide cooperation opportunities for companies and enterprises from the region and world, contributing to attracting more capital to development of infrastructure and human resources as well as increasing connectivity in the sub-region.

Vietnam, the host of ACMECS 7, CLMV 8 and WEF-Mekong, has collaborated actively and effectively with other member countries in preparing documents and agendas for the summits. The host has demonstrated its resolve to strengthen cooperation with practical and concrete contents and improve the effectiveness of cooperation.

Vietnam wishes and is doing its utmost to lead the summits to success. As Vietnam believes that its national interests are closely linked to the Mekong sub-region, the success in organizing the events benefits the country.

Vietnam also wants to show its responsibility for the sub-region, the region and the international community as a whole.

With its good preparations for and ideas to be proposed during the summits as well as active participation of other member countries, businesses and international organizations, we firmly believe that  ACMECS7, CLMV 8 and WEF-Mekong will be successful, bringing the Mekong sub-regional cooperation to a new phase and contributing larger to regional sustainable development and prosperity.

Written by Editorial Board

Translated by Thu Nguyen