Hanoi, (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage arrived in Hanoi late June 16, concluding his trip to Thailand toattend the 8thAyeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS 8)and 9th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Summit (CLMV 9).

At the 8th ACMECS Summit, themed “Towards an Integrated and Connected ACMECS Community”, the leaders focused their discussions onmeasures to facilitate socio-economic development, improve competitiveness ofmember economies, and outlined orientations for cooperation for inclusive and sustainabledevelopment in the Mekong region. 

The leaders also discussed establishing the ACMECS Fund and ACMECSInfrastructure Fund and Trust as a financing mechanism for cooperation projectsin the region.

The summit adopted the BangkokDeclaration and the ACMECS Master Plan for the 2019-2023 period with the goalof turning ACMECS into an economic hub with seamless connectivity and strongintegration. It also agreed that Cambodia willhost the 9th ACMECS in 2020.

Addressing theevent, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed the work ofbuilding the ACMECS Master Plan and affirmed that Vietnam will coordinate with othermember countries to build a plan of action to implement cooperative projects assoon as possible.

He suggested a number of measuresto make ACMECS cooperation more effective,saying that ACMECSneeds to contribute more directly to and become an integral part of the ASEANCommunity formation process through integrating the implementation of theACMECS Master Plan with that of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, the MasterPlan on ASEAN Connectivity, and other ASEAN cooperation programmes.

It is necessary to improve the working mechanism of ACMECS and pay more attention to the mobilisation offinancial sources via initiatives like the ACMECS Fund and ACMECSInfrastructure Fund and Trust, the Vietnamese PM noted.

He also recommended a number of specific contents forcooperation in trade-investment, agriculture, tourism, environmentalprotection, natural resources management, and human resources development. He called for efforts to be channeled into developing the East-WestEconomic Corridor, the South Economic Corridor and building new roads tofacilitate investment within the region.
         
Meanwhile, the 9th CLMV Summit, themed “For GreaterEconomic Integration and Connectivity”, leaders of the four member statesaffirmed their determination to bolster collaboration to tap their economicpotential, making contributions to the development of the ASEAN bloc andensuring inclusive and sustainable development in the region.

They shared the goal ofnarrowing the development gap within ASEAN and building a dynamic, prosperousCLMV region with sustainable development.

At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted ajoint statement of the CLMV 9 and agreed that Laos will be host of the CLMV 10.  

Addressingthe CLMV 9, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that narrowing thedevelopment gap within the ASEAN is significant to the socio-economicdevelopment in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmarand Vietnamas well as to stability and prosperity of ASEAN as a whole. 

The Prime Minister said there are three pointsworth of attention in order to achieve the best outcomes in CLMV cooperation.First of all, the cooperation should focus on sectors which are the strength ofthe concerned countries with high feasibility, especially in the context oflimited resources and the four countries’ participation in various Mekongmechanisms. He pinpointed some examples such as soft infrastructure connection,agriculture, tourism, human resource training, and development of sound andequal business climate.

Secondly, CLMV should be creative in mobilizing resources andbuilding joint projects, he said, suggesting integrating CLMV’s contents intoother Mekong cooperation mechanisms and invloving development partners in CLMVmeetings and project execution. 

Thirdly, the four nations should build mid and long-termcooperation strategies to serve as foundation for their joint activities. 

He saidVietnam is ready to contribute to cooperation in the framework of theCambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) mechanism and proposed specific supportfor the countries, such as helping the countries attend big trade fairs in Vietnam, build e-government, improvedigital capacity and skills, and continue to provide CLMV scholarships forCambodian, Lao and Myanmar students. 

During the time he attending the ACMECS 8 and CLMV 9, PM Phucheld bilateral meetings with his Thai, Lao and Cambodia counterparts and the President of Myanmar, andreceived executives of some major Thai corporations.

On the occasion, Phuc and his Thaicounterpart witnessed the signing of an MoU on cooperation between theEnterprises Development Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of  Planning and Investment and Thai bankKasikorn, and a deal on developing the solar power plants Dau Tieng 1 and 2 in Vietnam’s TayNinh province with total investment of approximately 400 million USD.

Thetrip to attend the ACMECS 8 and CLMV 9 of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucdemonstrates the importance that Vietnam attaches to the twocooperation mechanisms. It also helped enhance Vietnam’sposition and role in the region, and contributed to opening up a new chapter inMekong cooperation and to sustainable developmentand prosperity in the region.-VNA