APEC's informal SOM in December 2016. (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The first Senior Officials’ Meeting of APEC (SOM1) and relatedmeetings in 2017 will be organised in Nha Trang city, the south centralprovince of Khanh Hoa, from February 18 to March 3.
The meetingswill be attended by 1,500 delegates from 21 member economies of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation Council, the APEC Business Consultation Council, and someinternational and regional organisations along with business representatives.The events will comprise56 meetings, workshops and dialogues of 38 APEC committees and working groupsacross many fields like trade and investment liberalisation, businessfacilitation, natural disaster response, human resources development,education, businesspeople travel facilitation, ocean and fishing, e-commerceand services.
Under the themeof “CreatingNew Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future,” delegates are expected to discuss and reach agreementon priorities and their contents for the 2017 APEC Year on promotingsustainable, inclusive and innovative growth, regional economic connectivity,and the competitiveness of small-and medium-sized enterprises and microenterprisesin the digital era.
Food security, sustainableagriculture, and climate adaptation are also on the agenda of the meetings.
The delegateswill also decide priorities for four committees on commerce, investment,economy, economic-technical cooperation, budget, management and for other workinggroups of APEC. They will outline orientations for APEC activities this year.
As Chairman of APECSenior Officials’ Meetings in 2017, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister BuiThanh Son will preside over the SOM1 and the meeting of Chairman’s FriendsMeeting on connectivity.
Vietnam’s 13ministries and agencies will preside over or assume chairmanship and vicechairmanship of committees and working groups of APEC.
On the occasion,the APEC Finance Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting will also be held in Nha Trang.-VNA
VNA
