VietNamNet Bridge – President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, March 20, met with Myanmar Vice President Nyan Tun, who is making his first official visit to Viet Nam.

Myanmar's Vice President Nyan Tun visits the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi yesterday.

Sang spoke highly of the Vice President's visit and said it was a positive step in the burgeoning relationship between the countries.

The Vietnamese leader stated his belief that Myanmar will continue its strong and stable recent development.

For his part, Nyan Tun said that Myanmar is in a process of extensive economic development and is interested in attracting foreign investment, including from Viet Nam.

Sang praised the outcomes of talks between the Vice President and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Doan and said that the agreements reached will raise traditional relations and comprehensive co-operation between the two countries to a new height.

Tun headed a delegation of experts for the visit and widespread and fruitful discussions have been held with Vietnamese departments. The two sides hailed progress in areas as varied as defence, investment, agriculture, aviation and tourism.

It has also been declared that the two nations will work together extensively in petroleum and mineral exploitation.

Tun pledged to speed up the implementation of high-level agreements between the countries to ensure development continues without delay. He also stated that Viet Nam and Myanmar will work together intensely at regional and international forums including meetings of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) and the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Viet Nam (CLMV).

The Myanmar leader thanked the President for Viet Nam's support of his country taking on the role of ASEAN Chair in 2014, and pledged to work closely with all ASEAN nations to prepare for the position.

Sang also told his visitor that Viet Nam is willing and able to share its experience with Myanmar to help them organise the 2013 SEA Games.

Productive

Following her talks with Tun earlier in the day, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan applauded the achievements of Myanmar and its people in the development of the nation.

Tun spoke of his recognition of Viet Nam's achievements and his respect for the country's growing position in the region and the world.

He promised that the bilateral partnership and mutual development with his country would continue in all fields, with more visits being organised by delegations from both sides.

Existing partnership bodies such as the Viet Nam-Myanmar Joint Committee and the Joint Sub-Committee on Trade and Political Consultation will also continue, with the former meeting later this month.

The two sides committed to enhancing investment so that two-way trade would rise to at least US$500 million by 2015, while expanding co-operation in many promising areas such as agro-forestry, fisheries, banking, telecommunications, transport, oil and gas and tourism.

Doan said she hopes Myanmar's government will continue creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in Myanmar and shorten the licensing process for Vietnamese projects there.

They agreed on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, maritime safety and freedom in the East Sea and called for the settlement of disputes through peaceful means on the basis of international law - especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - and the implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

Viet Nam – Myanmar

The business communities of Viet Nam and Myanmar set a bilateral trade value target of US$500 million by 2015, Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV) told Myanmar vice president Tun.

The Myanmar leader was meeting yesterday with the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar (AVIM) to seek measures to boost two-way trade.

Currently, there are 18 Vietnamese companies registered to do business in Myanmar.

Tun said Myanmar had received an investment of US$40 billion from 30 countries up to February, with Viet Nam ranked ninth due to a combined capital of $370 million, accounting for nearly 1 per cent of Myanmar's total foreign investment.

Ha, who is also AVIM chairman, said Viet Nam paid much attention to Myanmar because it was an emerging and potential market, especially for goods consumption, agricultural products and processing technology.

Recently, 25 Vietnamese entrepreneurial delegations from prestigious corporations and groups made fact-finding tours of Myanmar. They explored co-operation, investment and business opportunities in the country.

Referring to obstacles that Vietnamese investors are facing in Myanmar, Tun said the host country had recognised the significance of foreign investment and had made policies conducive for absorbing the funds.

Accordingly, Myanmar had developed many industrial and economic zones, linking with partners in the Indian Ocean, the East-West Economic Corridor and Mekong river regions to create an efficient inter-regional network.

Appreciating the investment in Myanmar from Vietnamese enterprises, the vice president affirmed that Myanmar's Government would continue improving the investment environment with a view to assisting them to maintain their long-term operations in the country.

Source: VNS