Members of the Vietnamese delegation at the SEOM (Photo: VNA)
Senior economic officials from the 10 ASEAN member states convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 20 and 21 for their meeting (SEOM) to prepare for the upcoming 47th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (AEM 47) and related events.
The Vietnamese delegation to the SEOM was led by Le Trieu Dung – Deputy Director General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Participants at the event, including ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Lim Hong Hin, discussed the completion of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in late 2015, the Post-2015 Economic Vision by 2025, free trade agreements, economic integration and other issues scheduled to be discussed at the AEM 47 and related meetings.
The AEM 47 will officially take place on August 22 while the ASEAN economic ministers’ consultations with the bloc’s dialogue partners (China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and Russia), the ASEAN-European Union Business Summit and the East Asia Investment Forum will be held from August 23 to 25.
Talking to the press on the fringe of the SEOM, Secretary-General of the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria said overall AEC compliance had already passed the 90 percent mark and is targeted to reach 95 percent by this November.
She said she hopes the ministers will encourage them to push for more.
Later on August 21, a preparatory meeting of senior economic officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam was also organised in Kuala Lumpur.-VNA
