Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade officials attend the 20th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (CLMV SEOM) on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The 20th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (CLMV SEOM) was held on Monday via video conference, during which Việt Nam suggested countries select projects suitable to the “new normal” in each country when compiling the CLMV Action Plan for 2021-2022.

Deputy head of the Asian-African Markets Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Nguyễn Phúc Nam, head of the Vietnamese delegation, stressed the need to intensify the application of digital technology as well as the organisation of activities in the online format while creating favourable conditions for experts, technicians, and project officials from development partners.

It is also important for CLMV to propose more co-operative projects to benefit all four countries and support post-pandemic recovery efforts, especially projects facilitating trade and investment, improving regional connectivity, supporting micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in accessing finance and technology, and increasing their capacity.

Regarding a detailed action plan to implement the CLMV Development Framework approved at the 10th CLMV Summit last December, Nam suggested the countries step up co-ordination to identify feasible activities and projects for the action plan.

The CLMV SEOM 20 reviewed the implementation of activities in the 2019-20 CLMV Action Plan, discussed the plan for 2021-21, reviewed the implementation of the Promotion of Competitiveness within the Framework of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (COMPETE) project, and discussed the next steps in carrying out the CLMV Development Framework.

Many activities and projects in the 2019-2020 action plan were postponed or cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but thanks to its activeness, Việt Nam carried out several planned trade and investment co-operation activities.

The country proposed online meetings, trade fairs, and training courses, facilitating trade and investment activities and services, particularly those through CLMV borders, restricting and removing unnecessary trade barriers, and ensuring the operation of supply chains. VNS