BIDRICO ACCOMPANIED THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE THIRD APEC SENIOR OFFICIALS’ MEETING (SOM 3)
On August 29, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – The third APEC senior officials’ meeting (SOM 3) was held for the first day led by the Chairman of SOM APEC 2017, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. 21 APEC senior officials and nearly 200 delegates representing member economies, the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), APEC Secretariat, etc. attended the Meeting.
According to the Chairman of SOM APEC 2017 Bui Thanh Son, APEC cooperation from the beginning of the year until now has achieved positive results, notably commitments to continue promoting trade liberalization, investment and inclusive growth of Ministers in charge of Trade. The Chairman of SOM asked delegates to focus on reviewing the progress of APEC cooperation since SOM 2 up to now, and reporting updates on the main results achieved as well as preparations for upcoming major APEC activities.
During today’s working day, the Meeting heard the report of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) on the results of the third ABAC Conference (Toronto, Canada, July 26 – 29) and the contents that ABAC plans to report to senior leaders next November. The Chairman of the Senior Finance Officials (SFOM) also announced the results achieved in financial cooperation. The presentations emphasized the focus on cooperation between enterprise and financial channels that will complement and contribute to concretizing the themes and priorities of the APEC Year 2017.
APEC Committees on economics, trade and investment, budget management and economic-technical cooperation in turn reported results in specialized areas of cooperation. Outstanding results were initiatives and projects related to structural reform and human resource development, e-commerce, industries for supporting and promoting the implementation of the Bogor Goals on trade liberalization and investment, narrowing the development gap, improving capacity to participate in and implement regional trade agreements and free trade agreements (RTAs/FTAs), implementing the Lima Declaration on the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP), etc. APEC’s contribution to the successful organization of the World Trade Organization (WHO)’s 11th Ministerial Conference was also mentioned.
The Vietnamese delegation participated, actively contributed and presented the results of ministerial-level activities organized on sustainable tourism, food security and sustainable agricultural development, health and economics. Members highly appreciated Vietnam’s role as a host, especially in initiating, leading and coordinating APEC cooperation to bring substantial results to people and enterprises, contributing to realizing themes and priorities of APEC cooperation in 2017.
Delegates also discussed preparations for upcoming ministerial-level activities, both in terms of content and organization, including the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting, the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy, Transport Ministers’ Meeting, Forestry Ministers’ Meetings, etc.
SOM 3 will continue to be held tomorrow, August 30.
*In the evening of the same day, senior officials and delegates will attend a Reception hosted by the Chairman of SOM APEC 2017, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.
