Vietnam and member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum have pinned high hopes for their 22nd summit taking place in Beijing, China from November 5-11, marking the organisation’s 25 th anniversary.

APEC has been highly beneficial for Vietnam since its admission in 1998, including lower tariffs, a steady supply of production materials and a convergence of managerial and technological expertise.

The organisation is the largest source of investment and official development assistance in Vietnam, representing around 65 percent of the country’s foreign direct investment, Director General of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation Division under the Foreign Ministry Nguyen Nguyet Nga told the Vietnam News Agency in Beijing, adding that 75 percent of tourist arrivals originated from the Asian-Pacific region.

Nga said regional peace and stability are crucial as the interests of Asian-Pacific economies are closely intertwined, adding that the region will remain the most significant contributor to Vietnam’s economic progress in the near future.

Established in 1989, APEC has achieved a number of successes, including three rounds of tax reductions, a three-fold increase in internal trade, and the introduction of the APEC business travel card, which has made inter-regional travel easier.

Looking back, Vietnam has made a number of worthwhile contributions to the organisation in terms of economy, trade and people-to-people exchanges. During the 2006 APEC summit hosted by Vietnam, members declared to look into the long-term prospects of the Asian-Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP) as well as a series of realistic reforms.

Vietnam has also contributed to APEC’s concerted efforts to address natural disasters in the Asian-Pacific region, where 70 percent of the world’s catastrophes occur.

At the sixth APEC ministerial meeting on human resources development, Vietnam put forward a number of proposals for the 2015-2018 period.

Vietnam is also partnering with APEC member economies to host the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in 2017.

The 21-member organisation comprises 12 countries currently negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam, along with China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand.-VNA