On September 10, 2021, the 13th Conference of Economic Ministers of Cambodia - Laos - Myanmar - Vietnam (CLMV EMM 13) took place in the form of an online meeting chaired by Myanmar.

This is an important event within the framework of the 53rd ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM 53) and related meetings to be held from September 6-15, 2021 in Hanoi. Attending the conference were heads of delegations from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and ASEAN Secretary-General.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade - Tran Quoc Khanh. Joining the Vietnamese delegation were leaders of the Asia - Africa Market Department and representatives of a number of related units in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Education and Training.

The main topics discussed at this meeting included: (i) Report of the CLMV Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM CLMV); (ii) Progress of the project “Development of Action Plan for Implementation of the CLMV Development Framework”; (iii) Economic recovery plan after the Covid-19 pandemic and next steps to promote trade and investment and strengthen connectivity among CLMV countries.

The CLMV countries all believe that 2021 will continue to be a difficult year with many challenges for countries in the world and in the region, especially since the disease situation is still complicated and likely to persist. However, a good sign is that despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, trade and investment in the CLMV region will still maintain growth in 2020 and the first months of 2021, contributing to the overall growth. of the ASEAN region. This is a positive result, reflecting the efforts of countries in both epidemic prevention and economic recovery.

Regarding the progress of the implementation of the CLMV Economic Cooperation Action Plan (Plan) for the period of 2019-2020 and the period of 2021-2022, Vietnam highly appreciates the efforts and rapid adaptation and transformation of CLMV countries in the period. implementation of activities and projects. Vietnam thanks to the cooperation and active participation of CLM countries in activities hosted by Vietnam such as fairs and exhibitions held in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and scholarship programs organized by Vietnam. In 2021, Vietnam will continue to conduct fairs and exhibitions and invite CLM countries to attend; maintains a scholarship program for citizens of each CLM country. Vietnam proposes to have more activities to support small, medium and micro enterprises through the "B2B matching" connection in areas where CLMV countries have strengths or have needs such as agriculture, agricultural product processing, food, seafood, textiles, tourism, and supporting industrial products in the 2021-2022 business plan.

For the project "Developing an Action Plan for the Implementation of the CLMV Development Framework", the Conference discussed necessary measures to speed up the progress. Head of the Vietnamese delegation said that this is a key task that CLMV senior leaders have assigned to heads of delegations from other countries. Therefore, Vietnam calls for the close coordination of CLMV countries, the ASEAN Secretariat and donors to accelerate the project progress and promptly develop a draft Action Plan by the end of 2021. The conference also heard the representative of GIZ report on the implementation of the "COMPETE" project and expressed its appreciation for the German Government's commitment to continue supporting CLMV countries to improve their capacity and improve their institutions. approved the extension of the project for a further period until 2024.

For the economic recovery plan after the Covid-19 pandemic and the next steps to promote trade and investment, and strengthen connectivity among CLMV countries, the Delegation Leaders shared information and experiences on the following issues: policies and measures to respond to the epidemic and to restore the economy after the epidemic. The head of the Vietnamese delegation proposed solutions to promote trade and investment cooperation and strengthen connectivity among CLMV countries. Specifically, Vietnam suggested that countries pay attention and continue to promote the implementation of cooperation activities in the CLMV Action Plan 2021-2022, in association with the goals of the ASEAN Integration Initiative and the Community Building Master Plan. ASEAN economy to 2025. Vietnam suggested that countries continue to facilitate import and export activities between countries, especially customs clearance activities at border gates, encouraging the strengthening of ASEAN economy. linking enterprises of CLMV countries in the fields of processing and exporting agricultural products and food in order to form regional supply chains with CLMV as the core. CLMV countries also need to strengthen connectivity in line with the goals of the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan to 2025.

After exchanging and sharing post-epidemic economic recovery measures, the Conference agreed to appoint the Heads of SEOM to actively coordinate with the ASEAN Secretariat in coordinating cooperation activities to support the economic recovery of the countries. On behalf of the ASEAN Secretariat, Mr. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, Secretary General, highly appreciated the measures that countries have been taking in preventing the epidemic and restoring the economy. Mr. Dato Lim Jock Hoi emphasized that CLMV countries need to develop practical actions to realize the ASEAN Overall Recovery Framework, support businesses in digital transformation, apply high-tech agricultural production, and encourage the participation of the private sector, ensuring that supply chains and value chains in the region are not disrupted.

At the end of the Conference, Deputy Minister Tran Quoc Khanh shared and expressed his hope that CLM countries and the ASEAN Secretariat would continue to support and cooperate with Vietnam as the chair of the CLMV economic cooperation mechanism in the year 2022.