Chuck Kuhn's Asia in Photos: AFP: World economic turmoil will impact Mekong region: Vietnam

Thursday, November 6, 2008

AFP: World economic turmoil will impact Mekong region: Vietnam

Vietnam's premier warned Thursday that the current upheavals in the world economy would not spare Southeast Asia's Mekong river countries.
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are particularly vulnerable to the global turmoil, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said at the opening of a regional summit.
He called for the grouping and the wider Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to step up their cooperation to fight the impact of the global turmoil and push forward the fight against poverty.
"With their low and limited levels of development, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are the most vulnerable countries to negative upheavals in the regional and world economy," said Dung.
Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein warned the financial crisis "may lead to a decline in development assistance from our development partners" and said the region should increasingly look to India, China and Japan for help.
The premiers of the four developing countries met Thursday in Vietnam's flood-hit capital Hanoi, where they were to be joined for a dinner and a broader summit Friday by Thailand's new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Somchai, speaking at Bangkok airport before flying to Hanoi, said he wanted to discuss the impact of high food prices with his regional neighbours, as well as thorny border issues with military-ruled Myanmar.
"During my trip to Vietnam I will take the opportunity to raise the issue of rice prices with the Vietnamese prime minister, and with the Myanmar prime minister I will bring up the issues of the border and drugs," he said.
Except for middle-income country Thailand, the other four nations remain among Asia's poorest and hope to build prosperity through closer regional transport and commercial links, both with each other and with China.
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were cold war battlegrounds until 1975, and conflict raged on in Cambodia until the 1990s. Myanmar, also known as Burma, remains diplomatically isolated and poverty-stricken.
Full-scale wars ended years ago in the region, but a lingering dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over land near an ancient Khmer temple erupted last month into a border clash that left four people dead.
Thailand's Somchai said he did not intend to raise the issue with Cambodia's Hun Sen at the Hanoi meeting.
"I don't think I will again talk about the conflict with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as I consider the problem has already been solved," Somchai told reporters.
Foreign ministers and border negotiators from the two countries will meet November 10-12 in Cambodia's tourist hub Siem Reap to try to end the months-long military stand off, Cambodia's foreign ministry has said.
Thursday's premiers' meeting is known as the fourth summit of the CLMV group, named after member-states Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

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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.