Vietnam participating in 8th ASEAN summit

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will take part in the 8th ASEAN summit to be held from November 3th till November 5th in the Cambodian capital of Pnompenh.

The summit will be organized in compliance with the ASEAN+3 format envisaging the participation of China, Japan and South Korea, and in compliance with the ASEAN+1 format, which envisages an independent participation of each of the aforesaid three countries and India.

The ASEAN Secretary-General, Rodolfo Severino, stated in Jakarta that the ten ASEAN member-states would sign with China an overall economic cooperation agreement. These agreements envisage that within the next 10 years ASEAN and China will create tax-free trade zones, which will give ASEAN companies an access to the market with about 1.7 billion consumers and a 1.5-2-trillion-dollar GDP.

The summit's agenda includes such issues as terrorism and the security in the region and on the Korean peninsula, as well as issues related to the North Korean nuclear programme.

The countries will discuss further development of states located in the Mekong delta. This primarily refers to trade and investments, the energy, transport and telecommunications sectors, as well as to humanitarian issues.

The summit participants will also consider Australia's proposal to hold annual meetings between ASEAN and Australia.