PM Dung: Vietnam always welcomes foreign businesses Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has affirmed the nation’s willingness to welcome foreign entrepreneurs and investors keen to do business in Vietnam--one of the attractive investment destinations. On June 23, Myanmar President Thein Sein, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, along with ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh attended a dialogue with Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) business representatives at the International Convention Centre in Myanmar’s capital of Nay Pyi Taw. The ACMECS business community noted with satisfaction as the sixth ACMECS summit adopted the 2016-2018 Action Plan with 8 priotized areas of cooperation, and encouraged ACMECS leaders to focus on six core cooperation areas  to promote trade and investment by monitoring the use of local currencies in cross-border commercial transactions, upgrading key border checkpoints and coastal trade areas. The leaders underlined the need to boost agricultural cooperation, especially the implementation of farming and rice production projects, step up industrial affiliation focusing on key economic zones, enhance transport links and tourism cooperation, encourage the ACMECS single visa scheme, and resources development. Speaking at the dialogue, PM Dung and the ACMECS leaders appreciated and acknowledged the helpful proposals of the ACMECS Business Council and practical feedback from enterprises regarding ACMECS cooperation over recent years. However, they stated that huge potential for ACMECS cooperation has yet to be fully tapped and many cooperation programmes have not yet carried out as effectively as expected. That is what the ACMECS leaders are trying to overcome, while encouraging businesses to actively become involved in the process of developing and implementing of ACMECS cooperation programmes. PM Dung also analyzed the potential and advantages of five ACMECS member states to elevate their role and position in the global production and supply chain, especially in the intersection between Southeast Asia and the broader markets like China and India. The results of ACMECS cooperation, principally in transport connectivity through the development of the East-West economic corridor and the southern corridor have helped reduce travel costs and improve regional competitiveness, he said. "ACMECS Cooperation not only creates closer links of friendship and solidarity between the neighboring countries, but also opens up a new development space for businesses in the region and beyond. I believe that you will not miss a golden opportunity to succeed. I hope to receive a positive response from you through specific actions for the sake of prosperity and sustainable development of our five nations,” Dung noted. On the occasion, the Vietnamese Government leader reiterated the nation’s resolve to speed up economic restructuring and comprehensive international integration, deploy a score of measures aimed at creating the most favorable for businesses, investors and drastically improving the business environment and national competitiveness. With the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of this year and prospects for finalizing 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) from now to 2020, Vietnam will become an important link of the broad economic network with 55 partners, including the world leading economic powers- the US, EU, Russia, Japan and China, Dung said. VOV