East-West Economic Corridor Week kicks off

The East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) Week 2007 that is themed “EWEC - A corridor of friendship and economic cooperation: from ideal to reality” opened in the central city of Da Nang on August 27.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem said the EWEC Week 2007 will contribute to increasing the mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and cooperation between EWEC member countries.

EWEC nations should work out policies and measures to develop tourism, facilitate the transportation of goods and promote investment and trade in the region, he said.

Deputy PM Khiem said he hoped that the EWEC 2007, the first of its kind in Viet Nam, would be followed up by activities in countries along the corridor to further their economic, trade, cultural and tourism ties.

Tran Van Minh, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, said that as the last point of the corridor, Da Nang holds massive tourism potential, a highly skilled workforce and many investment incentives that should be made greater use of.

Marking the opening of the week is the EWEC 2007 Fair where more than 200 businesses from Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Russia, India, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan and Viet Nam are showcasing a wide range of products at over 350 booths.

Earlier, Deputy PM Khiem, who doubles as Foreign Minister, received his Lao counterpart, Somsavat Lengsavad, head delegates from participating countries, and representatives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The corridor runs through Viet Nam’s Da Nang city and Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces, Laos’s Savanakhet province, Thailand’s Mae Sot, Tak, Phitsalulok, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Kuchinarai and Mukdahan provinces, and Myanmar’s Mawlamyine and Myawaddy provinces and connects the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean in a total length of 1,450km.

EWEC is one of the key development cooperation projects in the Greater Sub-Mekong Region (GMS). The project was discussed and ratified at the eighth Ministerial Meeting of GMS in Manila, the Philippines in October 1998 and was officially introduced to the Ha Noi Action Plan in December 1998 at the sixth ASEAN Summit Meeting.

(Source: VNA)