(VOVWORLD) -Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said the future of APEC is the future of Vietnam during his opening speech at the 24th General Meeting of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in Hanoi on Monday.
The meeting is a major event in the framework of the second APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 2) in Hanoi.
 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh delivered the opening speech at the 24th General Meeting of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in Hanoi on May 15, 2017. |
Deputy Prime Minister Minh said that the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) plays a leading role in harnessing the enthusiasm and wisdom of businesses, governments, and scholars in developing ideas to deal with the most difficult challenges that the Asia-Pacific region faces.
At this meeting, representatives of the 21 member countries will discuss the development direction of Asia-Pacific in the coming decades; what APEC must do to continue its inclusive, sustainable, and innovative growth in the digital era; and how to create a closely connected Asia-Pacific, which can be the driving force of economic integration in a globalized world. Mr Minh said: “Lying at the heart of Asia-Pacific, Vietnam has been pursuing comprehensive renovation, extensive internal integration and proactive multilateral diplomacy. The future of Asia-Pacific is the Vietnam's future. Your recommendations and insights today are important for APEC's process of reflection on its work toward 2020 and beyond.”
On the sideline of the meeting, Mr Vo Tri Thanh, Chair of the Vietnam National Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, said that this meeting is taking place in the context of a lot of disturbance and complexity in the global linking process. As an open and dynamic economy, Vietnam has actively contributed to linking and integrating within the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Thanh said: “In addition to growth, trade, and investment support, APEC is where Vietnam finds new ideas and solutions for its own challenges in urbanization, population structure, the 4th industrial revolution, and climate change, all of which are directly related to Vietnam’s trade, investment and growth.”
Participants came up with solutions for both long- and short-term challenges facing the region, including low productivity and growth inequality between their economies.