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Vietnamese PM Urges Further ASEAN Economic Cooperation
Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai Saturday urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reinforce their economic reforms and continue to support regional economic growth through intensifying ASEAN economic cooperation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 33rd ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Hanoi, Khai said the global economic slowdown, especially in the United States, Japan and the European Union (EU), has adversely affected ASEAN economies.
The Vietnamese government will commit to accelerating the implementation of ASEAN Trade Area as endorsed at the Hanoi ASEAN Summit in 1998 and welcome the signing of the Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area, which will speed up the opening-up of sectors and grants national treatment to ASEAN investors, he said.
He welcomed the technical assistance programs implemented by ASEAN to help new members of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
"Vietnam wishes an early accession to the WTO with necessary preferences applicable to developing countries," he said.
Over the past days, ASEAN economic ministers held consultative meetings with their dialogue partners from China, Japan, South Korea, EU and the United States on trade facilitation, investment and technology transfer.
According to Vietnamese Trade Minister Vu Khoan, the meeting will discuss new measures aimed at realizing Common Effective Preferential Tariff and ASEAN Free Trade Area, accelerating the establishment of the ASEAN Investment Area, turning e-ASEAN into reality, intensifying the Mekong Sub-region and West-East Corridor cooperation program, and narrowing the development gap among ASEAN member countries.
The 32nd ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand in October, 2000.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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