APEC 2017: The Diplomat lauds Vietnam’s economic integration hinh anh 1The ABAC Dialogue with APEC Economic Leaders takes place on November 10 (Source: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) – The Diplomat magazine recently published an article on Vietnam’s continuous global economic integration since its first hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2006.

According to the article, the end of the second Indochina War in 1975 resulted in Vietnam’s reunification and was also the start of a relatively long reconstruction.

During economic development via trade liberalisation, Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, allowing Hanoi to benefit from increased trade and investment with its ASEAN neighbors through the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

The capstone of Vietnamese economic development efforts was membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in early 2007.

The APEC 2006 summit in Hanoi was Vietnam’s coming-out party, its debut on the world economic stage. Improved ties boosted trade, foreign investment, and economic growth, it said.

The article quoted the World Bank as saying that Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) more than doubled from 25 billion USD in 1996 to 66 billion USD in 2006. The gross national income (GNI) per capita improved from 310 USD in 1996 to 760 USD in 2006.

Vietnam is hosting the APEC Year 2017. The APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Meeting in the central city of Da Nang on November 10-11 is the most important external event of Vietnam this year, with the participation of leaders from the 21 member economies.-VNA
VNA