Asia-Europe Summit to improve Vientiane's infrastructure
Asia-Europe Summit to improve Vientiane's infrastructure
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit plays an important role in shaping international politics as it brings top political and economic leaders to sit down for talks to discuss what they should do to enhance cooperation to protect peace and boost development.
But what might we expect from the 9th Asia-Europe Summit to be held in Vientiane in November, in light of past international events that have played an important role in shaping global politics and economic cooperation?
The third ASEM Summit took place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in October 2000. The meeting was attended by heads of state and government from 10 Asian and 15 European nations.
This summit welcomed Cambodia as a new member, which was seen as an attempt to expand the scope of ASEM. The summit called on Asia and Europe to tighten economic cooperation, giving a major boost for Asia to recover from the monetary crisis of 1997.
Leaders at the summit also endorsed a number of Asia-Europe initiatives to close technology and digital gaps between the two continents.
The fourth summit took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September 2002, attended by heads of state and government of 10 Asian and 15 European nations.
One of the major achievements of this summit was the consensus by Asian and European leaders of the need to maintain unity in diversity, to protect peace and development in the world. The summit also stressed the importance of human resource development as the driving force of social and economic growth.
In Laos, the 9th ASEM Summit will certainly be viewed as a historic event. Not only will it play an important role in strengthening Asia-Europe relations, it will also help the capital Vientiane improve its infrastructure in line with international standards.
Five years ago, none of us thought it was possible for Laos to host an international conference attended by 48 heads of state from the European Union and Asia, as at that time Laos did not have enough international-standard facilities to host such a prestigious event.
The questions asked were: Would Wattay International Airport be able to accommodate larger aircraft? Heads of ASEM delegations would not be travelling by scheduled flights. And where would they be accommodated? Laos had limited five-star hotels. And where would the delegates meet? Laos had no large convention centre. Of course, the government did not have the necessary financing to build these facilities.
However, with close supervision from Party and government leaders, the Lao government decided to launch diplomatic missions to seek cooperation from friendly countries and the private sector to host the 9th ASEM Summit. They viewed the event as advantageous for raising the profile of Laos and also playing an important role in bringing Asia and Europe closer by sharing in world community efforts to build peace and prosperity.
Thanks to financial support from friendly countries including China and Japan, the government is now enlarging Wattay International Airport to accommodate larger aircraft such as Boeing 747s. The contractor is China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd. The construction of the airport facilities is progressing well and is expected to be finished before the summit takes place in November.
The government has also sought cooperation from the private sector to build high class and luxury accommodation where top Asian and European leaders will stay during the summit in Vientiane from November 5 to 6. One of the most remarkable developments is the Vientiane New World project.
The more than US$600 million project, which belongs to CAMCE Investment Lao, a joint venture between the Chinese state-owned enterprise China CAMC Engineering Co., Ltd., who is also the contractor of the Wattay International Airport project, and the Lao Krittaphong Group, is divided into three phases.
The first phase is the construction of the 50 ASEM Villas, which the Lao government will use to accommodate ASEM delegation heads. The investing firms plan to sell the villas to locals and foreigners on the Don Chan Mekong riverfront after the summit is over.
According to the latest report from the company, construction of the 50 villas is now 75 percent complete and is expected to be finished before the summit in early November.
The company said that once the summit is over, it will begin work on the remaining phases, including construction of a pedestrian precinct, a hotel, shopping mall, apartment block and business centre, adding that the entire project will take at least six to eight years to complete.
The Lao government has provided favourable conditions for CAMCE Investment Laos to implement its investment project, giving a major boost to the country's economic growth. Laos would see economic growth of 8.3 percent without the construction of infrastructure to host the ASEM Summit this year, according to the World Bank.
A number of local and international diplomats and businesspeople have welcomed Laos' preparations to host the summit, saying it will not only enable Laos to host the international conference but also give Laos modern infrastructure.
Laos will continue to play an important role in the international arena and the improved infrastructure will create more confidence among locals and foreigners about investing in the country, and create jobs and income for Lao people so they can escape from poverty.
vientiane times
