CLMV seek ways to narrow development gap

Senior economic officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV) held a conference in Ha Noi yesterday to discuss initiatives and solutions to bridge the development gap between the four countries and other ASEAN members.—VNS photo

HA NOI (VNS)— Senior economic officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV) held a conference in Ha Noi yesterday to discuss initiatives and solutions to bridge the development gap between the four countries and other ASEAN members.

The conference, the fifth of its kind, took place within the framework of the 9th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting. Conference Chairman Aung Naing Oo, who is head of the Myanmar delegation, said that due to the low level of CLMV development in relation to other ASEAN countries, reducing the gap was a constant challenge facing the planned formation of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

The meeting focused on evaluating the results of the projects that Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Viet Nam had carried out together.

The officials agreed to promote the implementation of further projects within the framework of the Initiative for ASEAN Economic Integration (IAI) supported by the remaining six ASEAN members and some developed countries, focusing on developing infrastructure, transport, technology and communication, human resources, poverty reduction and tourism promotion in CLMV countries.

The 6th CLMV conference will be held in Laos at the end of 2013. — VNS