Hanoi (VNA) – State President Luong Cuong’s official visit to Peru and his attendance at the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Lima from November 12 – 16 at the invitation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte holds a great significance, demonstrating Vietnam's strong support for multilateralism in general, as well as for the APEC process in particular, a Vietnamese diplomat has said.
In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of Cuong’s trip, Ambassador to Peru Bui Van Nghi stressed that Vietnam has made active contributions to the APEC forum, contributing to promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and economic integration in the region, and maintaining APEC's role as the leading economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific.
Notably, Vietnam is one of the few members to have successfully hosted the APEC summits in 2006 and 2017. It is also one of the most active members in proposing initiatives and projects, with over 150 projects across various sectors. The country has made significant contributions to APEC’s operations by holding key positions, such as the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat in 2005 – 2006, Chair and vice chair of many committees and working groups. Currently, Vietnam serves as head of the APEC Agenda development group on structural reform for the 2026-2030 period.
Over the 26 years in APEC, Vietnam's ministries and sectors have effectively leveraged APEC's resources to enhance capacity. The country has led or co-led several projects on e-commerce, women's empowerment, climate change response, emergency response, marine health, sustainable and inclusive growth, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and promoting resilient supply chains, the diplomat said.
Since successfully hosting the APEC Summit 2017, and with a proactive spirit of international integration, being a responsible member and reliable partner in the international community, Vietnam has continued to actively participate in and make significance contributions to the cooperation mechanism. It promoted the implementation of many key programmes and initiatives from APEC 2017, particularly the initiative on shaping the APEC Vision 2040 and the Action Plan to implement this vision, which were approved by the leaders of the 21 member economies. Vietnam is expected to host APEC Summit again in 2027.
Cuong’s official visit to Peru coincides with the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, marking an important milestone and reflecting the positive development of the bilateral relations from politics and diplomacy to economics and trade, the diplomat said, adding that the trip serves as a historic opportunity and an impetus to further deepen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
High-ranking leaders of the two nations frequently visit and engage in bilateral meetings on the sidelines of international conferences. In addition, Vietnam and Peru have established bilateral dialogue mechanisms and signed many agreements and memoranda of understanding on cooperation.
The Vietnamese State leader’s trip to Peru aims to continue implementing Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism, and diversification of relations, as well as proactive and comprehensive international integration; promoting multilateral diplomacy, demonstrating Vietnam's consistent policy of always attaching importance to and seeking to strengthen and deepen its relationship with Peru in a practical and effective manner, Nghi said.
Regarding economic, trade, and investment cooperation, Vietnam highly values Peru's role and considers it one of the key partners and a top investment destination in Latin America. The two-way trade hit 486 million USD in 2023, and 294 million USD in the first seven months of this year. The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) have two investment projects in Peru with a total capital of 1.24 billion USD.
As for Vietnam's role in promoting cooperation and linkage between ASEAN and Peru, as well as Latin American countries, Nghi stated that Vietnam can serve as a crucial bridge between ASEAN and Latin America, helping enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between the two regions, particularly with Peru.
Vietnam can share its experiences in economic development, international integration, and climate change adaptation with Latin American countries, contributing to building sustainable, practical, and effective cooperative relationships, he noted.
With both Vietnam and Peru participating in the CPTPP, the two countries can tap the advantages of the agreement to promote bilateral trade and expand market access for each other's products.
Vietnam can encourage its businesses to seek investment opportunities in Latin America, while also creating favourable conditions for Latin American investors, especially those from Peru, to explore opportunities in Vietnam, the diplomat said.
Vietnam's role in connecting ASEAN with Peru and Latin American countries is becoming increasingly evident, through the promotion of trade, investment, and political cooperation, contributing to the creation of a diverse and effective cooperation network, he went on.
Peru, as the host of APEC 2024, will steer APEC's work toward greater economic and technical cooperation, promoting prosperity and well-being for all the people in the Asia-Pacific region.
Themed “Empower – Include - Grow”, APEC 2024 covers three priorities of trade and investment for inclusive and interconnected growth, innovation and digitalisation to promote transition to the formal and global economy, and sustainable growth for resilient development./.
