Symposium on priorities for APEC 2017

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for APEC 2017 highlighted Vietnam's remarkable contributions to the APEC Forum.

On the APEC’s next activities, Minh underscored the need to promote sustainable, creative and inclusive growth, saying that APEC’s agenda should focus on institutional reform.

He called for combined efforts to boost extensive regional integration and connectivity by grasping opportunities brought about by the ASEAN Community and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, among others.

More support should be given to micro and medium-sized enterprises to improve their competitiveness and enable them to join the global value chain, he said, noting great potential for cooperation in digital infrastructure since Asia-Pacific is home to the largest number of Internet subscribers globally.

On the occasion, he also called for attention to food security and sustainable agriculture, saying that the APEC needs to facilitate technology transfer and application to improve productivity and farmers’ skills, giving them better access to the markets and capital.

Peruvian Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Quesada, Chair of the 2016 APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting, stressed that Peru commits strong support to Vietnam as the host of APEC Year 2017 and its agenda.

The priorities of the 2017 APEC include creating new momentum for the future of the Asia-Pacific, promoting sustainable and creative growth, the role of micro, small and medium enterprises and their competitiveness capacity and creativity in the digital era, and enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture and in a way that adapts to climate change, said a representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a press briefing on December 5.

Roughly 200 events, conferences and workshops will be held throughout the nation in the framework of APEC 2017.

Vietnam has prepared for hosting the major event since 2013, when it was given the task at the summit in Indonesia. In late 2013 and 2014, the country set up an intersectoral working group and in July 2015 organized a National Committee for APEC 2017 preparations.

Vietnam joined APEC in 1998, and successfully hosted APEC 14 in 2006, which laid a foundation for the Asia-Pacific Free Trade areas and adopted the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Bogor goals and initiatives to improve cooperation within APEC.

Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21 economies, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.