Vietnam’s proposals to generate new dynamism for APEC

State President Tran Dai Quang at the final rehearsal for the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

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State President Tran Dai Quang stated that the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in the central city of Danang, a beautiful, modern, dynamic, and hospitable coastal city, has the important mission to create new dynamism for APEC co-operation, integration, and growth.

“This is also an opportunity for APEC member economies to further deepen and elevate co-operation towards building an Asia-Pacific partnership of sustainable and inclusive development in the 21^st century,” Quang said.

He elaborated that in the spirit of constructive cooperation for mutual benefit and under the theme “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future,” APEC economic leaders will discuss directions for the forum on the following issues:

First, creating new dynamism for sustainable, innovative, and inclusive growth for APEC member economies. These efforts should be linked with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, equipping the labour force with new skills for work in the digital age, accelerating structural reforms, and promoting innovation, startup and business competitiveness, particularly among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Member economies should also work to build a resilient and inclusive APEC community, promote sustainable urban-rural development, ensure food-water-energy security, reduce disaster risks, enhance women’s economic empowerment, and create a better environment for vulnerable groups. These efforts would help increase the APEC’s growth quality.

Second, promoting trade and investment liberalisation and strengthening regional connectivity, accelerating the Bogor Goals’ achievement by 2020, deepening regional integration and connectivity, and working towards the eventual realisation of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) to enhance trade and investment flows in the Asia-Pacific and foster linkages among APEC member economies.

It is also necessary for the APEC to promote an open, transparent, non-discriminatory, and inclusive multilateral trading system. The realities of world trade require members to enhance cooperation on issues related to supply chains, value chains, e-commerce, continued capacity building, and regulatory coherence.

This is a pre-requisite for the forum to continue its role as the driver of economic integration in the multi-layered global landscape.

Third, consolidating APEC’s pioneering role in global economic governance and in tackling common challenges, raising APEC’s adaptability to the changing environment and its leadership in advancing reforms and innovation, and increasing APEC’s co-operation efficiency to generate tangible benefits for the people and businesses in the region.

APEC also needs to contribute to the active implementation of global commitments, particularly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Fourth, preparing for the APEC’s fourth decade of development, APEC economic leaders need to discuss steps to develop the post-2020 strategic vision for the forum. This vision needs to further uphold APEC’s leading role in promoting integration, connectivity, sustainable and inclusive quality growth, restructuring, internet/digital economy, education, quality human resources development, reduced development gap, etc. These are also great development needs for member economies and the common trend of international co-operation in the 21^st century.

“Being fully aware of the importance of the close relations between Vietnam and the APEC, Vietnam has always been making active and responsible contributions to the work of the forum over the past 20 years,” President Quang said.

“Entering the phase of comprehensive reforms, by hosting APEC 2017, Vietnam wishes to reaffirm its foreign policy of diversification, multilateral international relations, and intensive international integration, being a reliable friend and partner of the international community. We will continue to work with other APEC member economies in building a peaceful, stable, dynamic, interconnected, and prosperous Asia-Pacific community,” he said.