Delegates to the forum agreed that thirteen years since Vietnam has participated in the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Cambodia - Laos - Myanmar - Vietnam cooperation framework, Vietnam has made great contributions to boost regional links, trade and investment.
At Dan Savanh border gate in Laos to Lao Bao border gate in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam launched a single-stop and single window inspection system last year. Since then, the crossing through the gates has been shortened, thus facilitating trade between the two countries. The model will be further expanded at other checkpoints between Laos and Myanmar and Laos and Thailand, as well as others along the East-West Economic Corridor.
“The economic corridor will provide the shortest transportation route connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. It is a 3500km sea route from Yangon to Da Nang, but the corridor is only 1600km. The East-West Economic Corridor will help connect and strengthen links between the Mekong river-shared countries and turn the sub-region into an important bridge connecting East Asia and South Asia.
The East-West economic corridor was initiated by Vietnam since joining the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Cambodia - Laos - Myanmar - Vietnam cooperation framework. “The initiative has been an important contribution to investment, trade, tourism and infrastructure development in underdeveloped areas of the sub-region”, said Chan Bao Ngoc, Deputy Director, Department of Economic Affairs, MOFA.
According to the World Economic Forum, the Mekong sub-region boasts a population of 238 million people with an economic growth rate of 6%, double that of the world's figure. Meanwhile, Vietnam has been a prominent host country for global investment inflows. That also means the Mekong sub-region is a potential investment area for the international business community.
