Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: Vietnam to host Mekong nations’ summits in November

Friday, October 31, 2008

Vietnam to host Mekong nations’ summits in November

The third Ayeyawadi-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Summit (ACMECS) and the fourth Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Summit (CLMV) will take place in Hanoi from Nov. 4-7. The news was announced by Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung at a regular press briefing on Oct. 30. Hung said the summits will draw together Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and officials from relevant ministries of member countries to discuss solutions to improve their efficiency in implementing cooperation agreements reached at previous summits. The events are expected to see the attendance of approximately 400 businessmen from a number of regional countries, plus representatives from international organisations, and investors from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US and Europe Union. The ACMECS is scheduled to issue a joint statement regarding facilitating trade, investment and tourism between the five member countries, and the CLMV is due to ratify a joint statement of leaders and a list of projects prioritised for implementation in the near future. According to Hung, new areas being addressed at these summits are the organisation of an ACMECS Business Forum and a dialogue between ACMECS leaders and businessmen, that will offer excellent opportunities for businesses to hold discussions and to give suggestions and initiatives to facilitate trade, investment and tourism activities and to boost regional economic cooperation. “Businesses are major participants and factors underlying cooperation. This is a new start and I believe that more and more businesses, not only from member countries but also other regional countries, will join in the cooperation mechanism,” Hung stressed. Established in November 2003, ACMECS is an economic cooperation mechanism of five countries; Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, which aims to boost cooperation in five major fields: trade-investment, industry-agriculture, transport, tourism, and human resource development. Vietnam joined the ACMECS in November 2004. The CLMV mechanism was formed in 2004 under the initiative of Laos . In addition to the five cooperation fields being addressed by the ACMECS, the CLMV also focuses on tourism, information technology and communication.
(Source: VNA)

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They say "

“I can’t say what made me fall in love with Vietnam - that a woman’s voice can drug you; that everything is so intense. The colors, the taste, even the rain. Nothing like the filthy rain in London. They say whatever you’re looking for, you will find here. They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived. The smell: that’s the first thing that hits you, promising everything in exchange for your soul. And the heat. Your shirt is straightaway a rag. You can hardly remember your name, or what you came to escape from. But at night, there’s a breeze. The river is beautiful. You could be forgiven for thinking there was no war; that the gunshots were fireworks; that only pleasure matters. A pipe of opium, or the touch of a girl who might tell you she loves you. And then, something happens, as you knew it would. And nothing can ever be the same again.”
― Graham Greene, The Quiet American

Tips on Travel to Vietnam

It's always warm in Southeast Asia apart from high mountains, so leave the heavy clothing at home. Cotton and breathable fabrics are always better than synthetics -- although cotton does wrinkle a lot when traveling! December through April is roughly the dry season in that region, although it can still rain a little. December is a good time to go in terms of temperature -- cooler than in the humid summertime. Either way, wearing more clothing (shirt sleeves and long pants) is always more respectful towards the Asian culture, especially when visiting temples and rural areas.