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Hanoi,
October 7, 2004
Mr. Chairman,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I
have the great
honor, on behalf
of the Government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam, to
welcome all delegates from
Asia and Europe to the Ninth Asia-Europe Business Forum
(AEBF-9). Your presence at this forum
represents a strong support to the Asia-Europe cooperation
process,
particularly to the Fifth Asia-Europe
Meeting. This is also indicative of your confidence in
Viet Nam as the host country.
The ASEM process embraces world major economies. With its
enlargement, ASEM now becomes a vast market with 2.7 billion
consumers,
making up 46% of the world GDP and 43% of trade volume. In
fact, trade
relations between the two continents have dated back since
long as
evidenced by the
Silk Road. Today, Asia and Europe are key trade and
investment
partners of each other.
The inception of ASEM eight years ago reflect the trend of
globalization and regionalization as well as the two
continents' earnest
desire for deepened cooperation to bring prosperity to each
individual
country and the
two regions as a whole. With the Trade Facilitation Action
Plan (TFAP) and Investment Promotion Action Plan (IPAP), the
two sides have better conditions to build a Closer Asia-Europe
Partnership.
However, the scope of cooperation matches neither the
potentials of
the two
continents nor the needs of the new situation. The EU is
enlarging while ASEAN,
consisting of ten members, is moving towards the establishment
of ASEAN Economic, Security and Socio-Cultural
Communities. East Asian
Cooperation becomes closer through the ASEAN-plus-three
mechanism with
China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Various
free trade areas and closer economic partnerships are in the
process of taking
shape.
These trends open up new prospects for deepened
cooperation
between our two continents. Aware of new opportunities and challenges,
ASEM members have agreed to choose the theme of ASEM 5 as
"Further
Revitalizing and Substantiating the Asia-Europe Partnership"
with economic
cooperation as a centre. And, for the first time, a
Declaration on "Closer
Asia-Europe Economic Partnership" will be adopted. We strongly
believe
that the Hanoi ASEM, characterized by the enlargement and
substantive
issues on its agenda, will mark a historic milestone and an
important step forward in the ASEM process, and benefit us
all.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We believe that ASEM is not just the co-operation process
between
and among Governments, but also aims to increase people-people
exchanges. In this regard, businesses and the AEBF in
particular will serve
as a driving force for economic co-operation.
The ninth AEBF takes place on the occasion of the Fifth Asia-Europe
Meeting, which provides a good opportunity for the Asia-Europe
business
circle to meet and interact with ASEM leaders to express their
views and
make recommendations to the Member Governments for
consideration and
implementation. As part of ASEM 5, the ninth AEBF will help
strengthen
trade and investment co-operation within ASEM members, which
contributes to the success of ASEM 5.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I think I cannot conclude without briefing you about the recent
developments in Viet Nam and our future plan.
Vietnam
embarked on the
Doi Moi
reform policy about 20 years ago and has recorded proud
achievements. High economic growth has been
sustained, social stability
maintained, and the people's life improved substantially.
Thanks to the
policy of openness and international economic integration,
Viet Nam's international cooperation has been expanded and
export and investment
increased rapidly, of which 80% comes from the ASEM partners.
It is the Vietnamese Government’s policy to create all favourable
conditions for you to do business in
Vietnam. Asian and European businesses are always welcomed to
Vietnam.
I wish you a pleasant stay in Vietnam. May the Forum be a
great success
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