Striving for a free trade area of APEC

Vietnam’s initiatives highly appreciated

According to Deputy Minister Bui Thanh Son, CSOM generalized the results of activities of more than 50 APEC subcommittees and working groups in 2017 to implement the theme of APEC Year 2017: “Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future” with the four priorities of Promoting sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth; Deepening regional economic integration; Strengthening MSMES’ competitiveness and innovation in the digital age; and Enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture in response to climate change. He said, “Member economies have made considerable progress in implementing APEC common plans and action programs. The highlights are the results in the fields of human resource development and educational cooperation, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth; increasing economic empowerment for women; supporting micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises to reach the global market; startups and innovation; improving competitiveness of the service sector; ensuring food security and sustainable agricultural development.”

Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son 

In addition, CSOM also discussed efforts to maintain open and free trade and facilitate investment. According to the Deputy Minister, APEC member economies highly valued Vietnam’s initiatives on facilitating cross-border e-commerce, further enhancing capacity of the economies in the supply chain and promoting the supporting industry in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to keeping the regional economic integration and connection pace.

More chances to expand Vietnam-US ties

Answering questions about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the Deputy Minister affirmed that there are various channels to strengthen cooperation among member economies within the framework of APEC cooperation. And TPP is one of them. Apart from TPP, at present in the Asia-Pacific region there are free trade areas like the ASEAN Economic Community and more than 150 bilateral free trade agreements. He stressed, “Right in this region, negotiations are underway for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) between the 10 ASEAN economies and the six partners of Japan, Korea, China, India, Australia and New Zealand. That Vietnam participates in TPP manifests its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization of relations. In the new context, Vietnam will coordinate more actively with other economies to help narrow the development gap, balancing interests at best for all remaining members following the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement. TPP is an open mechanism and not only the United States, but also other economies may participate in it in the long run.”

The fact that US President Donald Trump will attend the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and pay a State visit to Vietnam has drawn much attention from the media. At the press conference, the Deputy Minister emphasized that the visit reflects US interest not only in the region but also in Vietnam. “The participation in the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the State visit to Vietnam of President Donald Trump will convey a strong message that the United States commits to cooperation and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam and the United States formed their comprehensive partnership in 2013 and this relationship has been growing intensively and extensively in various areas. I believe that President Donald Trump’s State visit to Vietnam will continue to bring more opportunities for the two sides to discuss ways to further deepen the Vietnam-US cooperation in line with the general trend in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Translated by Huu Duong