I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 About the Seminar

As the world economy has yet to fully recover from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, shifting growth model becomes a priority of many countries. East Asian and Latin American countries are credited for successful experience in overcoming crises, transforming growth model and sustaining high growth rate. Against this background, in its capacity as Co-chair of the FEALAC Working Group on Society and Economy for 2011-2013, Viet Nam hosts the Seminar “Experience of FEALAC countries in transforming growth model towards sustainable development”. The Seminar aims at providing an opportunity for policy-makers and scholars from East Asian and Latin American countries to share experiences in transforming growth model towards sustainable development, identify cooperation potential among FEALAC member countries and explore ways to mobilize support from international organizations in this process. The outcome of the Seminar will be reported to the 6^th FEALAC Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia from 13^th to 14^th June 2013.

Participation

The Government of Viet Nam would like to invite each FEALAC member countries to nominate government officials at Minister/Deputy Minister or Director General level and scholars to participate in the Seminar. The composition of each delegation may include 01 government official and 01 scholar or more. 

Each delegation is kindly requested to prepare one written presentation  (around 10 page long) on their respective country’s experience in transforming growth model towards sustainable development which will be integrated in the Seminar’s Summary Record and uploaded on the Seminar’s website. In addition, some delegations are invited to make intervention (in around 7-10 minutes) on topics specified in the tentative program. Written presentation and intervention should be forwarded to the Organization Committee before 6 May 2013 to facilitate logistical and substantive preparation of the Seminar.

Tentative program

- Wednesday, 5^th June 2013: Arrival of delegations

- Thursday, 6^th June 2013: Seminar in Hanoi

- Friday, 7^th June 2013: Field trip and meeting with leaders of Quang Ninh province. Ha Long Bay sight-seeing (registration is required)

- Saturday, 8^th June 2013: Departure of delegations
A tentative program of the seminar is available in the Program section.

1.2 ABOUT FEALAC

1.2.1 General information

The Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) is an association of 36 countries from East Asia and Latin America that came together for the first time to form an official and regular dialogue channel between the two regions.

FEALAC mainly consists of regular meetings held at three levels: the Foreign Ministers, the Senior Officials and the Working-Level Officials. The Core Group meetings are also held among FEALAC coordinators and other interested countries to facilitate the FEALAC process.

Based on the decisions and recommendations of the meetings, the FEALAC process is carried out through the co-projects of member countries under three working groups:

- the Politics, Culture, Education and Sports Working Group

- the Economy and Society Working Group

- the Science and Technology Working Group

Vision and principle

FEALAC aims to promote cooperation, better understanding, and political and economic dialogue between East Asia and Latin America in order to achieve more effective, cooperative, and fruitful relations in all areas.

FEALAC is based on the principles of respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity; non-interference in each other's internal affairs; equality, mutual benefit, and the common goal of development; respect and understanding for each other's unique culture and way of life; and decision-making by consensus.

Objectives

The key objectives of FEALAC are: to increase mutual understanding, trust, political dialogue, and friendly cooperation among member states; to tap the potential of multidisciplinary cooperation, inter alia, in economy, trade, investment, finance, science and technology, environment protection, culture, sport, and people-to-people exchange; and to expand common ground on important international political and economic issues with a view to working together in different international fora in order to safeguard common interests.

Background and History

East Asia and Latin America, both comprised mainly of developing countries, are economically dynamic and complementary to each other. With the global trend of regional cooperation, the need for intercontinental cooperation between East Asia and Latin America arose since there was no official cooperative mechanism bridging the two regions.

In September 1998, a concrete proposal to enhance the relations of the two regions was initiated by the then Prime Minister of Singapore Gho Chok Tong. Subsequently, the EALAF ( Eas t Asia-Latin America Forum ) Senior Officials' Meeting was held in Singapore in September 1999, marking the beginning of FEALAC.

At the first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held in Santiago, Chile in March 2001, EALAF was officially renamed FEALAC(Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation), and the [ Framework Document ] for the foundation of FEALAC was adopted, which contained the purpose, principles, and operative direction of the forum.

In January 2004, the Manila Plan of Action, which proposed a concrete course in fostering mutual understanding and cooperation between the two regions, was adopted by the foreign ministers of member countries during the second Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, the Philippines.

The Brasilia Ministerial Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted at the third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brasilia, Brazil in August 2007. In this declaration, the member countries outlined a concrete proposal regarding the future direction and action plans for the further development of FEALAC.

(Source: www.fealac.org)

1.2.2 Member countries

East Asia

 Australia                    Malaysia
 Brunei                        Mongolia
 Cambodia                  Myanmar
 China                         New Zealand
 Indonesia                  Philippines
 Japan                        Singapore
 Republic of Korea      Thailand
 Laos                          Viet Nam

Latin America

 Argentina                   Guatemala
 Bolivia                        Honduras
 Brazil                          Mexico
 Chile                           Nicaragua
 Colombia                    Panama
 Costa Rica                  Paraguay
 Cuba                          Peru
 Dominican Republic    Suriname
 El Salvador                Uruguay
 Ecuador                     Venezuela
(Source: www.fealac.org)

II. TENTATIVE PROGRAM

TENTATIVE PROGRAM
Seminar “Experience of FEALAC countries
in transforming growth model towards sustainable development”
 (Melia Hanoi Hotel, from 5^th to 8^th June, 2013)

Wednesday, 5^th June, 2013:

Thursday, 6thJune, 2013:

Friday, 7th June, 2013

Saturday, 8th June, 2013

III. DOCUMENTS

3.1 Opening ceremony.

3.2 Session 1: Addressing global and regional economic challenges and sharing experience in transforming growth model towards  sustainable development among FEALAC member countries.

3.3 Session 2: Strengthening cooperation between FEALAC member countries in the process of model growth transformation.

3.4 Closing session.

IV. LOCATION

4.1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the S.R. of Viet Nam
1 Ton That Dam st, Ba Dinh dist, Hanoi
Website:
 
4.2 Melia Hanoi hotel
44B Ly Thuong Kiet st, Hoan Kiem dist, Hanoi
Tel: (+844)3934 3343
Website: www.meliahanoi.com

4.3 Hilton Hanoi Opera hotel
01 Le Thanh Tong st, Hoan Kiem dist, Hanoi
Website: www3.hilton.com
Tel: (+844)39330500

4.4 Metropole Hanoi hotel
15 Ngo Quyen st, Hoan Kiem dist, Hanoi
Website: www.sofitel-legend.com/hanoi/
Tel: (+844)38266919

4.5 Government Guest House
12 Ngo Quyen st, Hoan Kiem dist, Hanoi
Tel: (+84.4) 38255853 – 38255801

V. CONTACT US
Economic Affairs Department
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the S.R. of Viet Nam
7 Chu Văn An st, Ba Dinh dist, Hanoi
Tel: (+84.4) 3799 3238; (+84.4) 3799 3246
Fax: (+84.4) 3799 3424
E-mail: nguyenthibinh@mofa.gov.vn; hoabinh72000@yahoo.com