Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Quang Nam (VNA) – The central province of Quang Nam is pushing cooperation with Laos’s southeastern province of Sekong to develop border trade towards the highest economic efficiency.
Quang Nam has invested in building the Nam Giang border economic zone and improving the transport system and monitoring stations at the Vietnam-Laos shared borderline.
The locality has also implemented the Vietnam – Laos border trade agreement and the Prime Minister’s Decision No.52/2015/QD-TTg issued in October 2015 on the management of trade activities with shared border countries.
It also built specific programmes to attract investment from businesses into the border areas, facilitate goods exchange and encourage trade activities.
Apart from supporting enterprises to increase trade promotion and direct exports with Laos , Quang Nam also works to preserve the special cooperative ties with Sekong to jointly deal with any issues affecting their economic and trade development.
The province also stepped up inspection of goods quality and food safety and called on businesses to invest in trade projects, technical economic infrastructure, and markets in border communes and districts.
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Khanh Toan said Quang Nam is coordinating with Sekong to ramp up investment in building infrastructure to serve border trade development, while directing the People’s Committees at border districts to protect forests, natural resources, support underprivileged people and upgrade rural roads.
Local authorities proposed the Government increase the annual investment capital to 50 billion VND (2.25 million USD) to develop border gates, especially building border markets in Nam Giang and Tay Giang districts, and improve infrastructure at Nam Giang border economic zone.
Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Quang Thu said authorities have suggested Lao partners pay more attention to developing the transport system at Tay Giang border gate to pave the way for the bilateral goods exchanges.
In the first six months of 2016, the import-export turnover via Nam Giang border gate reached nearly 6.5 million USD. Quang Nam mainly exported machinery, equipment and construction material, while importing timber and electricity.-VNA
