The National Committee for APEC 2017 holds the third session in Hanoi on December 25 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The National Committee for APEC 2017 held the third session in Hanoi on December 25 to review preparations done so far this year for the country’s hosting of events of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum two years from now.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who chairs the committee, spoke highly of the sub-committees’ efforts to consolidate their organisations and effectively carry out the roadmap for the APEC 2017 organisation.
He said 2016 is the key year to finalise all preparations, with a large volume of work that need to be done.
The Deputy PM asked relevant ministries and sectors to speed up the draft of topics, priorities and initiatives, and the schedule for APEC 2017 events so that they can be made public in late 2016 as normal practice.
Other related issues such as infrastructure, logistics, reception, security, health care and publications should also be completed as soon as possible.
Authorised agencies should draw out their concrete working plans, strengthen inter-sectoral coordination, and utilise the support of the APEC member economies, the APEC Secretariat and the business community, Minh noted.
The hosting of APEC 2017 is a focus of Vietnam’s external activities by 2020. The successful organisation of the events is significant to promoting the country’s image as a peaceful, stable and friendly destination and an intensively integrated economy.
The fourth session of the National Committee for APEC 2017 is expected to convene in next March.
Established in November 1989, APEC now comprises 21 economies, representing around 39 percent of the world’s population, 57 percent of total global GDP and 47 percent of international trade.
Vietnam joined the forum in November 1998 and successfully hosted the 2006 APEC and the 6th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in 2014.
The National Committee was set up in mid-2015 and consists of five sub-committees in charge of content, logistics, health and security, communications, and protocol preparations for APEC 2017.-VNA
