| Press Release | Fact
ASIA SOCIETY CONFERENCE
DRAWS LARGEST BUSINESS GATHERING IN
Over 800 government and business leaders representing 25 countries are convening in Hanoi, Vietnam to participate in “Opening Markets and Continuing Growth: Vietnam and the Asian Economy.” The Asia Society’s 13th Asian Corporate Conference, being held March 5–7, 2003 at the Meliá Hanoi Hotel, will examine the Mekong Region’s rapid emergence as an important part of the Asian economy. Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will give the opening keynote address at the conference, which is co-organized by the Asia Society, Dow Jones and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam.
“The government is making a clear statement with this conference that it is ready to be a major participant in the global economy,” says Asia Society President Nicholas Platt. “The Asia Society is extremely pleased to help bring international attention to Vietnam and to help forge stronger links between Vietnam’s business community and foreign investors.”
The decision to choose Vietnam as the host of the 13th Asian Corporate Conference of the Asia Society is a clear demonstration of the high appreciation that the international community has shown to Vietnam for great successes in its Doi Moi process to maintain socio-political stability and achieve high and sustained economic growth,” says Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment, Vietnam. “On its part, Vietnam will do its utmost to become a destination for foreign trade and investment partners.”
"This conference promises to be one of the most important business gatherings in Vietnam since the county began opening up its economy over a decade ago," says Asia Society President Nicholas Platt. "The meeting will bring international attention to Vietnam's prospects for growth as its leaders, increasingly supportive of serious economic reform, work to forge closer trading ties with the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region."
Conference speakers and delegates include Asian government officials and leaders of prominent international corporations and organizations. Delegates representing 25 countries, including hundreds of executives and investors from outside of Vietnam, are expected to attend. Conference participants will look at Vietnam’s ongoing reform, the implications of Vietnam’s historic trade agreement with the U.S., the development of its private sector, its efforts to attract long-term foreign investment and its growing role as a trade partner for the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, conference panels will address prospects for multilateral trade regimes in ASEAN and the potential impact on the Mekong region, energy supply and consumption in Vietnam and the region, and strategies for creating regional investment hubs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Speakers at the conference include: Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Indonesia; Vu Khoan, Deputy Prime Minister, Vietnam; Thongloun Sisoulith, Deputy Prime Minister, Lao PDR; Mark Vaile, Trade Minister, Australia; Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment, Vietnam; Nguyen Dy Nien, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam; Truong Dinh Tuyen, Minister of Trade, Vietnam; Rafidah Aziz, Minister of Trade and Industry, Malaysia; Ong Keng Yong, Secretary-General, ASEAN; Raymond Burghardt, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; Richard C. Holbrooke, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Asia Society; Kantathi Suphamongkhon, Thai Trade Representative; Lee Hong-koo, former Prime Minister, Republic of Korea; Robert Madelin, Director, EC Directorate General of Trade; Nguyen Xuan Nham, President and CEO, Vietnam National Oil and Gas Corporation; Tadakatsu Sano, Vice Minister of International Affairs, Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry, Japan.
“Opening Markets and Continuing Growth: Vietnam and the Asian Economy” is the Asia Society’s 13th Asian Corporate Conference. Since 1991, the Asia Society’s Corporate Conferences in Asia have attracted a combined audience of more than 11,000 participants from around the world. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, the Asia Society is the leading U.S. institution dedicated to fostering public understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. The Asia Society is headquartered in New York City, with Regional Centers in Houston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and Melbourne, and Representative Offices in San Francisco, Shanghai and Manila.
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Elaine Merguerian, Asia Society Conference
Press Secretariat, The Meliá Hanoi Hotel, Function Room 4,
Nguyen Thi Ngo Ha, T & A Communications, Suite 1.2B, Citigate Building, 104 Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi, Vietnam; tel: (84 4) 8223913/8223914; mobile: 0904 184838; fax: (84 4) 8223915; email: firstname.lastname@example.org
Nguyen Phuong Nga, Press and Information
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, 7 Chu Van An Street,
Hanoi, tel. (84 4) 1993371