Nghe An promotes 'one day eating three dishes' tour

(Baonghean) - This is one of the contents agreed upon by the leaders of the Association of 9 provinces of 3 countries Vietnam - Laos - Thailand using Highway 8 and Highway 12 (abbreviated as APOTC) in the recent meeting in Vinh City.

APOTC member provinces signed the minutes of the 21st preparatory conference. Photo: Thu Giang

In mid-November, delegations representing APOTC provinces had the opportunity to gather in Vinh City, Nghe An Province for the 21st Preparatory Conference, to review the results achieved since the previous conference.

“Our Association, as member provinces of ASEAN countries, must redouble our efforts, make the most of the time and opportunities for global integration to accelerate cooperation and growth, for a stable, prosperous and highly competitive ASEAN economic region.”

The call of the Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee - the host member received high response and agreement from the attending delegations.

With that in mind, the conference focused on discussing and finding solutions to issues that have been discussed for many years without achieving certain results, and outlined a cooperation plan for the coming time in all potential areas.

The “sweet fruit” of nearly a day of heated discussions, demonstrating goodwill and a high spirit of construction, the parties have reached an agreement to continue to pay more attention to aspects of education, culture, sports, tourism, science and technology, increase support for cooperation and exchange activities in training cadres, lecturers and students between the provinces, focusing on areas that the provinces have needs for and improving Vietnamese, Lao and Thai language proficiency.

APOTC also agreed to cancel the construction of the Cultural and Sports Center of 9 provinces and 3 countries in Kham Cot district, Bolikhamxay province, along with the need to support workers in industries that are free to move according to the agreement within the framework of the ASEAN Community, strengthen and develop the organization of caravan tours (1 day of meals in 3 countries), strengthen cooperation between the government and businesses...

Another equally important area is trade and investment, which also received high consensus on promoting the potential, benefits, investment opportunities, and products of the 9 provinces of the 3 countries, enhancing trade development in border areas, and exchanging relevant information to prevent smuggling, trade fraud, and violations of intellectual property rights.

In addition, in the field of transportation, APOTC members reached a consensus that it is necessary to continue to recommend that the Governments of the three countries Vietnam - Laos - Thailand soon complete the procedures for opening the Bangkok - Nakhon Phanom - Thakhek - Ha Tinh transport route; continue to recommend that the Ministries of Transport of the three countries soon complete the procedures for signing the Memorandum of Understanding on adding routes 8 and 12 in the territories of Vietnam and Laos to Protocol No. 1 of the Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Transport of People and Goods among the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS-CBTA); promote the construction of the Vientiane - Pak Xan (Bolykhamxay) - Thanh Thuy (Nghe An) - Hanoi expressway, etc.

Finally, we cannot forget to mention the issue of agriculture, when all delegates expressed their desire to increase sharing, exchanging experiences, information, and transferring technology between provinces in the field of agriculture, especially in plant and animal varieties, vegetables and fruits; support the expansion of business activities, connecting enterprises in the field of production and trading of agricultural products between provinces.

Closing a successful preparatory conference, in addition to the direct result of thorough and careful preparation for the 21st official conference taking place in Nong Khai province, Kingdom of Thailand in January 2018, the meeting of the three provinces of Vietnam - Laos - Thailand further strengthened the determination of the host Nghe An in particular, and APOTC members in general, to build a stable, close, practical and effective cooperation area of ​​the Mekong Sub-region countries, contributing to the prosperous development of the ASEAN Community.

Thu Giang