Hanoi (VNA) – The National APEC 2027 Secretariat under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with the US Department of State, opened a workshop in Hanoi on October 1 to discuss preparations for APEC 2027.
The two-day workshop follows the first such event held in April 2026 and focuses on organisation, management and coordination. It saw the presence of ministries, sectors, APEC 2027 sub-committees and localities, as well as the APEC Secretariat and international partners.
Attending the workshop were Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu, who is also head of the National APEC 2027 Secretariat; Deputy Chief of Mission for the US Mission in Vietnam Courtney Beale; Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat Eduardo Pedrosa; along with speakers and experts from the economies that have hosted APEC. Also in attendance were nearly 100 representatives from ministries, sectors, sub-committees of the National Committee for APEC 2027 and localities involved in the preparation for next year's events in Vietnam.
In his opening remarks, Vu said Vietnam hosts APEC 2027 as it enters a new era of development, with a new growth model based on productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness and a goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045.
At the same time, the country is pursuing comprehensive foreign affairs at a new height and stays persistent in the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation of external relations, and comprehensive, intensive, extensive, and effective international integration.
During that process, APEC and the Asia-Pacific region continue to hold an important position, he remarked.
The Deputy Minister described hosting APEC 2027 as a key foreign affairs task for Vietnam through 2030, requiring preparations and organisation commensurate with the significance and scale.
Thorough preparations and professional organisation will demonstrate the host’s sense of responsibility and capacity, helping build trust and facilitate dialogue and cooperation among APEC members to deliver practical outcomes for people and businesses, he said.
Welcoming the active participation of localities, Vu stressed that promoting their roles and sense of responsibility while ensuring close coordination with central agencies is crucial to the success of APEC 2027.
He asked the National APEC 2027 Secretariat, sub-committees, ministries, sectors and localities to further improve coordination mechanisms, clearly assign responsibilities and ensure that any issues emerging are addressed and decisions made promptly.
Each APEC event will provide a valuable opportunity to introduce the economic potential, people, culture and distinctive features of each hosting locality, thereby showcasing a dynamic Vietnam rich in cultural identity and increasingly integrated into the region and the world, he said.
For her part, Beale affirmed that Vietnam is one of the US’s most important partners in the Indo-Pacific, with its role and position growing in the region and the world.
She noted Vietnam’s successful hosting of APEC in 2006 and 2017 demonstrated its capacity to organise, coordinate and lead the forum. She expressed confidence that APEC 2027 will offer Vietnam an opportunity to demonstrate its vision and proactive role and promote practical cooperation in the region.
The US will continue working closely with Vietnam and is ready to provide assistance in capacity-building, skills development and organisational experience in the run-up to APEC 2027, Beale said.
Meanwhile, Pedrosa highlighted the forum’s important role in providing a platform for dialogue, experience sharing and capacity building among economies amid rapid changes in the regional and global economic environment.
He praised Vietnam’s active preparations, noting it is among the few APEC members to have hosted the forum three times.
The APEC Secretariat will maintain close coordination with Vietnam to ensure a productive and substantive agenda for APEC Year 2027 that makes practical contributions to regional cooperation, the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat added.
During the two-day workshop, participants will discuss organisational and management experience, inter-agency coordination and ways to handle different situations with the APEC Secretariat and experts from previous host economies.
The discussions will also help Vietnamese localities to fully understand preparation requirements, seek support and promote their economic, cultural and tourism strengths, thus contributing to the success of APEC 2027, popularising Vietnam’s image and promoting local development.
The same day, Vu met with Deputy Chief of Mission Courtney Beale, representatives of the US-APEC RISE programme, and international experts and speakers. He thanked partners for their coordination and support and expressing his hope that they will continue accompanying Vietnam towards a successful APEC Year 2027./.
