During 12-13 January 2010, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya together with his ASEAN counterparts, the ASEAN Secretary-General and experts from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Mekong Institute traveled along the East-West Economic Corridor or Route 9 from Mukdahan Province (Thailand) — Savannakhet Province (Lao PDR) — Da Nang (Viet Nam). The road trip provided the ASEAN Foreign Ministers with a chance to ascertain first hand the preparedness of the route as a major highway connecting the three ASEAN countries before attending the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Da Nang, Viet Nam on 13 — 14 January 2010, during which the concept of ASEAN Connectivity was one of the main topics discussed.
The journey started on 12 January 2010 when the ASEAN Foreign Ministers arrived in Savannakhet, Lao PDR to inspect the 2nd Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge and visit the Savan-SENO Special Economic Zone, located along Route 9. The following morning, the Ministers traveled to Viet Nam through the Dansavanh—Lao Bao border gate where they were welcomed by Mr. Pham Gia Khiem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Thereafter, the delegation visited the Imperial Palace at Hue where they were hosted lunch by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Chairman of the Thue Thien Hue People’s Committee. During the evening of the same day, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers arrived at the Furama Resort Da Nang, to attend the informal working dinner before the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat the following day.
In his interview to the press, Foreign Minister Kasit said that the road trip was a great opportunity for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers to travel along Route 9 themselves, which would help promote closer cooperation between policy makers at the national level as well as between local officials, which would lead to closer connectivity between the ASEAN countries. The Foreign Minister expressed his belief that closer connectivity and usage of the route would help promote the economic development of local communities, reduce the disparity of income between peoples living along the route, and thus help to alleviate transnational problems in the long run.
The East—West Economic Corridor (EWEC) or Route 9 under the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) links the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean to the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean, covering 1,600 km. of the route connecting Mawlamyine (Myanmar) — Mae-Sot — Phitsanulok — Khon Kaen — Kalasin — Muksahan (Thailand) — Savannakhet (Lao) — Lao Bao — Hue — Dong Ha — Da Nang (Vietnam). The route was built to reduce the cost of trans-boundary trade and transportation, to promote tourism, trade and investment across the borders, to elevate the competitiveness by promoting cooperation in terms of finance, technology, market and production, to strengthen local communities by providing more source of income and reducing the sub-regional economic and social gap, and to develop the financially, economic, and environmental sustainable economic zone.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th