Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (centre, first line) takes a photo with delegates (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted the theme of the 24th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM), saying it demonstrates the aspiration of Vietnam to cooperate with other APEC member economies to foster SMEs’ innovation and global access in the digital era.
Over the past 30 years of reform, Vietnam, from a poor country, became a developing and middle-income country in 2010, he said the opening session of the SMEMM held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 15.
The country’s development path is a vivid demonstration for the role and the significance of SMEs, he added.
He described the SME community as a main momentum for employment generation and contribution to the maintenance of socio-economic growth and stability.
In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, the National Assembly of Vietnam has promulgated the Law on Support for Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises while the Government has issued a number of important policies to build a healthy and inclusive business environment, he said.
Vietnam hopes to receive cooperation from other APEC member economies to enhance the capacity of the tax system to encourage business production, fair competition, and prevent transfer pricing and tax evasion of some foreign investors, he added.
The PM recommended building a support fund for SMEs and encouraging them to strengthen connectivity with multinational groups and engage in the global value chains.
He suggested implementing more synchronous measures to increase SMEs' competitiveness and creativity such as facilitating business access to markets and deeper engagement in global value chains; enabling MSMEs to get access to new technologies, improve management capacity and increase competitive edge; promoting entrepreneurship and business ethics; and developing a sustainable and environmentally friendly startup ecosystem to promote innovation among SMEs in the region and value the role of female leadership.
The PM called on countries in the Asian-Pacific region to foster trust and determination to maintain a peaceful environment and ensure safety and security for the free transfer of goods, services and investment inflows.
The 24th Small and Medium Enterprises Meeting (SMEMM 24) is one of the most important ministerial events within the APEC cooperation framework, which is expected to adopt a joint statement on promoting start-up bussinesses and a strategy to develop green, sustainable and innovative SMEs, he said.
Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21 economies, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.-VNA
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