VLACAED President Phuong Huu Viet speaks at the event (Source: VOV)Fostering cooperation in trade and investment among the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries was the focus of discussions at a forum on October 15 in Vientiane, Laos.
The event was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation Development (VLACAED) and the Lao National Institute of Social Sciences.
Participants included VLACAED President Phuong Huu Viet, representatives from relevant ministries, the Embassy of Vietnam in Laos, and crowds of Laos-based enterprises from Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
The forum aimed to boost trade and investment cooperation among GMS nations in the context of the official formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year.
It presented opportunities for enterprises to better understand the impact of the AEC and connect ASEAN with the GMS in a bid to fully tap the potential of the AEC .
The GMS Economic Cooperation Programme, initiated by the Asian Development Bank in 1992, has worked to promote integration, trade and tourism; expand energy access; improve transport infrastructure; and enhance human resources for the sub-region nations.
Vietnam has actively implemented a wide range of infrastructure projects and initiatives to facilitate cooperation and travel among GMS nations, including road links with China and Laos, and one-stop customs checkpoints at some border gates.
The GMS comprises Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA
