VNA
The APEC Study Centres Consortium (ASCC) Conference 2017 opened in Hanoi on May 12 within the framework of the APEC 2017 Second Senior Officials Meetings (SOM2) and related meetings.
Photo of a meeting
Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, who is also Vice Chairman of the National Committee for APEC, said that over the past nearly three decades, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has asserted itself as a leading economic mechanism in the region and the world that leads the liberalization of trade and investment as well as promote multi-layer cooperation trends.
APEC represents 39 percent of the global population and contributes 57 percent of GDP and 47 percent of trade in the world, he said.
In the coming time, APEC will play an indispensable role in the evolving regional architecture, coordinating and connecting regional linkage mechanisms, he noted.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister, APEC now holds an important part in Vietnam’s multilateral foreign policy. The country has set up strategic and comprehensive partnerships with 13 APEC member economies. It has also signed and joined free trade agreements with 18 members.
APEC cooperation in promoting liberalization of trade and investment, developing quality human resources development, facilitating micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)’ operations, responding to disasters and enhancing connectivity will greatly contributing to Vietnam’s socio-economic development, he stressed.
He urged participants at the conference to work to identify emerging trends in Asia-Pacific that have great impact on APEC cooperation, promote the role of APEC in the new context, and propose measures to boost sustainable and inclusive growth, develop human resources, encourage innovation, enhance regional linkages and increase competitiveness of MSMEs.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Senior Advisor to Vietnam’s APEC 2017 National Secretariat, spoke highly of the role played by policy researchers in fostering understanding and connectivity among APEC members, especially when the region enters its fourth decade of development in 2019.
Researchers must be pioneers in making policies, laying basic foundations for policy makers to build next programmes and plans, she noted, adding that they should pay more attention to strengthening APEC collaboration in a practical manner and promoting sustainable growth and intensive regional connectivity.
During the two-day conference, delegates will discuss new trends, challenges and outlook for the Asia-Pacific region, relevance and dynamism for APEC in the new context, and the development of an APEC Labour Mobility Framework.
They will also focus on measures to promote resilience, sustainable and inclusive growth among APEC member economies, and human resources development and technological innovation in the region as well as deepen regional economic integration, and enhance capacity and competitiveness of MSMEs.
VNA
