OFFICIALS from Myan-mar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam met in Yangon last week to prepare for the first summit of leaders of the four countries, due to be held in Vientiane later in this year.

The summit of prime ministers of the four newer members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be held on November 28, a day ahead of the annual meeting of ASEAN leaders in the Laotian capital.

The officials met at Yangon’s Hotel Nikko on August 18 to draft a joint declaration to be adopted at the summit, said the director general of the Political Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U Thaung Tun, who chaired the meeting.

U Thaung Tun said discussions at the summit will focus on promoting an economic cooperation plan among the four countries. The plan covers trade promotion, tourism, human resources development as well as in agriculture and transportation.

“The main objective of the cooperation framework includes achieving prosperity through enhanced solidarity, mutual respect and closer and active cooperation among the four countries,” U Thaung Tun said.

He said another objective of the cooperation among the four countries was to consolidate efforts to implement the ASEAN Integration Initiative, launched by the 10-member grouping in 2000.

The initiative provides for a range of development projects to be undertaken in the four countries with support from ASEAN’s more prosperous states and the grouping’s dialogue partners which include Japan, China and South Korea.

Apart from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, ASEAN includes Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the five ASEAN countries that comprise an economic cooperation grouping will meet in Thailand in late October, U Thaung Tun said.

He was speaking after officials from Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam met in Yangon on August 19 to review progress of the strategy, adopted by the grouping’s leaders when they met in Bagan last November.