Scene at the APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting (Photo: VNA)Da Nang (VNA) – The Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting (CSOM) convened inthe central city of Da Nang on November 6, kicking off the APEC 2017 EconomicLeaders’ Week.
The two-day meeting is chaired by Bui Thanh Son, Vietnamese Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs and APEC 2017 SOM Chair.
In hisopening remark, Son said this year presented both difficulties andopportunities to APEC cooperation. “Butthe good thing is that even facing such difficulties, we have managed to securemany important results, such as maintaining the momentum of cooperation andreaching convergences in a wide range of issues to boost this year’s prioritiesand support other APEC ongoing works,” he said.
“We have greatly benefited from the active engagement and contributions of allmember economies and other stakeholders to advance this APEC process in ourdesigned direction,” he added.
The meeting will focus on two key objectives: reviewing the progress of APEC cooperationthis year to be reported to APEC leaders, and finalising the APEC MinisterialMeeting (AMM) statement and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) Declaration.
He urged seniorofficials to use this meeting in the most constructive way to discuss all standingissues.
The SOM1 was held in the central province of Khanh Hoa in February while theSOM2 took place in Hanoi in May and the SOM3 in Ho Chi Minh City in September.
The APEC Economic Leaders’ Week,taking place from November 6-11 is expected to draw about 10,000 delegates fromthe 21 APEC member economies.
Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21 economies, including Australia, Brunei,Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic ofKorea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines,Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.
The APEC represents 39 percent of theworld population, 57 percent of the world GDP and 47 percent of the totaltrade.-VNA
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