Hanoi (VNA) – The ASEAN BusinessCommunity is the momentum for the economic linkage, creating a new impetus fortrade and investment development within the bloc, said Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc. 

Addressing the 3rd Bloomberg ASEAN BusinessSummit in Hanoi on December 8, he stressed the community plays an importantrole in initiating creative start-up ideas.

Vietnam is joining ASEAN efforts to furtherstrengthen and deepen the intra-bloc cooperation, he said, noting the centrerole of ASEAN in the region, especially in economic, trade and investmentcooperation have received support of international business communities,including global leading groups. 

The world and ASEAN region are facing with greatchallenges in security, economy, food, monetary, climate change, andprotectionism. However, the 4th industrial revolution brought great opportunitiesto development, he said. 

He urged for closer cooperation in economic andtransport infrastructure development, thus facilitating cross-border trade andinvestment. 

ASEAN member nations need to promote renovationand creativeness, improve their competiveness, and engage more in the globalsupply in order to achieve higher added values, he stressed. 

While expressing the hope that outside investorswill seek win-win cooperation opportunities with ASEAN partners, Phuc affirmedthat the Vietnamese Government is working hard to improve investment andbusiness climate, and welcomes all enterprises from ASEAN and other regions tothe country. 

This is the first event of this kind that brought together ASEAN leaders working in trade and finance, andrepresentatives of government agencies from the regional nations. It focused onmeasures to overcome challenges and define important opportunities for growth,cooperation and development in the region. 

Participants assessed policies in the ASEANEconomic Community, and debated issues related to cross-border investment inthe field of consumer products, infrastructure, goods, energy, finance-banking,communications and technology. 

ASEAN, comprising Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore,the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei, formsa consumption market of 600 million people and a GDP of nearly 3 trillion USD ayear.-VNA