Seminar discussed Japan's role in economic corridor development

Da Nang (VNA) - The relation between Japan and countries along the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) was the highlight of a seminar held in central Da Nang city on January 5-6.

Japanese scholars stressed their country's role in helping ASEAN's new members
narrow development gap with other members and integrate into the region. In
addition to direct investment, Japan has been providing large amounts of
official development assistance (ODA) to these countries to help them improve
their infrastructure, reduce poverty, develop human resources and reform legal
institutions.

For their part, Vietnamese scholars said the EWEC countries, including Laos ,
Myanmar , Thailand and Vietnam , boast great potentials in a wide range of
fields, thus the region is a good destination for investors.

The seminar, co-organised by the Southeast Asia Research Institute, Tokyo
university and the Da Nang-based Asia-Pacific Economic Centre, also reviewed the
process of bilateral and multi-faceted cooperation between ASEAN and East Asia
countries.-Enditem