Hanoi (VNA) – Ministers from 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum gathered in Manila, the Philippines on November 16 for a two-day meeting to discuss cooperation on anti-terrorism after the recent attacks in Paris and regional free trade initiatives.
The APEC economies are considering a general reaction on the recent attacks in France, which will be made public in a statement of APEC’s leaders scheduled to be released after the APEC Summit on November 18-19.
Manila meetings will discuss ways the 21 economies can coordinate towards the establishment of an APEC free trade area (FTAAP) based on the freshly-concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) agreement. APEC ministers will examine the progress of a joint study on the FTAAP project scheduled to complete by the end of 2016.
Besides, ministers will also discuss measures to help small-sized enterprises tap foreign markets, establish a supply network in case of natural disaster, promote women’s rights and intensify the development of high-quality infrastructure.-VNA