Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the plenary meeting of the GMS Business Summit in Hanoi on March 30 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Government of Vietnam commits to implementing initiatives of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and is translating them into reality, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the plenary meeting of the GMS Business Summit in Hanoi on March 30.
The PM affirmed that Vietnam focuses on creating a favourable environment for development, improving institutional and legal groundwork, enhancing management capacity in order to bring about equal opportunities for all economic sectors, while paying attention to training and development of human resources, infrastructure development, and only considers investing into important areas which have proved difficult for private businesses to invest in.
“Vietnam will continue improving the business environment to create a facilitative and competitive business environment,” he said, adding the country has worked to implement its commitments to protecting intellectual property, innovative ideas and inventions of start-ups.
The country will continue to boost tax policy reforms and corporate tax rate will be decreased to 15 – 17 percent and put in place many preferential regulations for investment in advanced technology, supporting industries, and high-tech organic agriculture, and other areas that create a lot of employment opportunities, he pledged.
As one of the three pillars of the GMS, the Government of Vietnam currently prioritises investing and attracting investment in the vital transport routes, he said.
The country is actively promoting investment in transport infrastructure on the East-West, North-South, and southern economic corridors, he added.
The Vietnamese Government also commits to implementing initiatives to support border trade, investment, tourism, agriculture and economy, as well as other forms of cross-border economic cooperation.
The leader said Vietnam will further promote active international integration in the GMS and the CLV. From 2018 to 2019, the Southeast Asian nation will focus on the signing and ratification of two new-generation free trade agreements, namely Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
In his speech, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed nearly 2,600 investors and entrepreneurs of the region and the world to Vietnam to attend the 6th GMS Summit and the 10th Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Summit, saying that they are the major driver of GMS economic growth.
Amidst the profound transformations underway in the world economy and development environment, the GMS needs to find more robust drivers for its development such as promoting effective use of both internal and outside resources, effectively harnessing the technological advancements and breakthroughs, and ensuring rapid and sustainable development remain a top priority, he said.
The plenary session also heard speeches by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Cha-o-cha, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Myanmar Vice President U Henry Van Thio, State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, President of the Asia Development Bank Takehiko Nakao, Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Lim Jock Hoi, and World Bank Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer Joaquim Levy.
The event saw the paricipation of representatives from nearly 100 international organisations and development partners, together with more than 2,000 domestic busineses and those outside the GMS region.-VNA
VNA
