(VOVworld) - A Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang on Saturday attended the opening of the 20th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT-20) in Qingdao, China.
On the agenda for the two-day meeting are matters pertaining to the implementation of APEC priorities in 2014 and preparations for the 22nd APEC summit to be held in Beijing, China this coming November. The meeting released a joint statement, which supports multilateral trade negotiations, the establishment of a roadmap towards a Asia-Pacific free trade area, information-sharing to increase connectivity, and expanding cooperation in finance and investment to develop the regional infrastructure.
Minister Hoang said: “The Vietnamese delegation was very active and contributed many opinions to the meeting’s agenda, particularly the joint statement. Vietnam recommended measures to eliminate inappropriate trade barriers, which will help ease goods circulation among APEC members.”
On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Hoang held bilateral talks with a number of important partners in APEC such as the US, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and China to discuss ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation. Topics for discussion also included China’s illegal placement of oil rig Haiyang 981 on Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone as well as Vietnam’s policy to deal with this.