Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung has just concluded his first visits to Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar and Brunei. The visits aimed not only to promote friendship and cooperation with these countries and ASEAN, but also to strengthen Vietnam’s role and position in the region.

The visits also opened up opportunities and prospects for stronger cooperation between Vietnamese businesses and their counterparts from these countries.

Many talks and exchanges were held between Mr Dzung and the leaders of the five ASEAN countries, who praised Vietnam’s increased role and position in the region, its rapid and sustainable economic development as well as its open external policy. Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah said that all the remaining nine ASEAN member countries have benefited from relations with Vietnam. He praised Vietnam’s achievements in national construction and development and its contributions to regional development. He also expressed his belief that Brunei and Vietnam will be “hand in hand” striving for the common interests of the whole region, prosperity of the two countries and happiness of all families.

As a result, Mr Dzung’s visit helped define and expand key cooperation areas between Vietnam and each of the five countries. Accordingly, Vietnam will strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and education with Singapore, oil and gas, labour and rice exports with Brunei, energy and telecommunications with Myanmar, and culture, agro-forestry and fisheries and anti-corruption with Indonesia. Vietnam signed a programme of action for the 2007-2010 period with the Philippines, detailing bilateral cooperation in security, national defence, economics, trade, forestry-fisheries, tourism, healthcare, culture, education and science and technology. 

During the tour, Vietnamese ministries, sectors and businesses signed a number of trade and investment agreements and business contracts with their counterparts valued at billions of US dollars. Notably, SP Chemical Group will invest billions of US dollars in a petrochemical industrial park in south-central Phu Yen province. Sembcorp group will expand the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park model to Hai Phong City and Bac Ninh province in the north.

Central Thua Thien - Hue province signed a US$4 million project with Singapore’s Akitek Tenggara Group to help Hue city develop a tourism development scheme. Nguyen Xuan Ly, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said the Singaporean group even called on other businesses to invest up to US$6 billion in tourism projects in Hue city. He affirmed that the scheme will help develop Hue’s tourism on a par with regional and global levels while preserving historical relics.

Meanwhile, the National Oil and Gas Group signed agreements on strategic partnership with their counterparts in Myanmar and Brunei, which both have great potential for oil and gas development. Tran Ngoc Canh, general director of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group said that his group will soon send specialists to these countries to look at cooperation areas and prepare for negotiations.  

The signing of a number of government-level cooperation agreements and business contracts as well as the success of business forums indicated that Vietnam and the five ASEAN countries still have great potential for cooperation in various areas.

Mr Dzung’s tour took place at a time when all 10 ASEAN member countries have just organised activities to mark the group’s 40th anniversary. It once again affirmed Vietnam’s determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with these countries in the spirit of friendship and cooperation for common development towards the goal of building an ASEAN community by 2015 to lift ASEAN’s position and image in the international arena. (VOV)