Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Laos, Thailand and
Vietnam gathered in Vientiane, Laos on June 28 to discuss
orientations towards the ASEAN Economic Community.
Participants heard reports on small and medium-sized enterprises’
operational capacity, national policies for SMEs and their contributions
to the nations, especially creating many jobs for unskilled people,
contributing to reducing poverty and increasing social welfare.
Reports also highlighted shortcomings and challenges of each
country’s businesses in the development process, particularly in
capital, technology, human resources, business capacity and trade
promotion.
Delegates affirmed that integration in
the ASEAN Community by 2015 reflects the determination and efforts of
the member countries in creating a highly competitive economic region.
To develop and integrate more deeply, small and
medium-sized enterprises should make more efforts to narrow the gap in
human resources and technology, as well as strengthen connectivity,
cooperation, information and experience sharing, they said.
They also asked each government to provide more financial and
technical assistance and create appropriate policies to help SMEs
overcome their challenges.-VNA