The 4th ASEAN Business Forum kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand on February 27 with the participation of nearly 600 businessmen and investors from ASEAN countries and other parts of the world.

The two-day event, themed “Challenges & Priorities towards AEC 2015: Capturing the value within”, will give representatives an insight of the ASEAN Economic Community, and improve the long-term competitiveness of regional countries.

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh unveiled that ASEAN is gradually taking steps to establish a Common Community by 2015, which relies on political security, economics and culture, the second of which is critically evaluated.

According to Thailand Management Association (TMA) and Thailand ’s Board of Trade (BOT), the annual event presents an opportunity for businessmen to share experiences and learn from each other.

Vietnam opened an exhibition pavilion at the forum to introduce its investment and cooperation opportunities, which attracted much attention from Thai businesses.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Thailand has developed strongly over the past time. In 2012, two-way trade reached 9.5 billion USD.-VNA