Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has affirmed Vietnam’s
consistent policy towards regional and international economic
integration at the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Surabaya , East Java,
Indonesia on April 20-21.

Hoang, who led the
Vietnamese delegation to the event, voiced Vietnam’s support for the
World Trade Organisation and the resolve to soon conclude the Doha
talks.

The minister emphasised the need for all APEC
members to achieve the Bogor goals by 2020 through specific
initiatives and the settlement of trade and investment barriers.

He said Vietnam gives priority to the contents of APEC cooperation
regarding the connection of supply chains, support for small and
medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure development.

Vietnam has made several proposals at the event such as creating
favourable conditions for support industries, sharing experience in
capital allocation for the development of renewable energies, which have
received support of many APEC members.

The
initiatives are part of the country’s efforts to boost trade and
investment cooperation in the region and make the full use of APEC’s
capacity enhancement programme for developing members.

On the sidelines of the event, the Vietnamese delegation attended a
ministerial-level meeting of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) economies,
during which a roadmap was reached for negotiations in the coming time,
including several ministerial-level rounds.

They also
agreed to back Japan ’s joining the TPP, raising the total number of
TPP economies to 12, which together make up 40 percent of the world
GDP .

Hoang also held bilateral talks with ministers
and heads of delegations of several economies, including Russia , the
Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan , the US ,
China , the Republic of Korea , Canada , New Zealand and
Hong Kong .

The meetings aim to strengthen bilateral
cooperation and handle economic, trade and industrial issues between
Vietnam and the partners, as well as accelerating negotiations and
implementation of FTAs among them.

The APEC
Ministerial Meeting wrapped up with pledges to continue their back of
the multilateral trade system within the framework of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO), stepping up regional connectivity, pursuing Bogor
goals and promoting sustainable and equal growth.

They adopted a joint statement, affirming their consensus on collective
solutions to cope with challenges that may harm the regional economy.

A joint statement on enhancing the multilateral trade system through
the ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali was also issued at the
event.

In closing the event, Indonesian Minister of
Industry and Trade Gita Wirjiwan said APEC is being seen as a new
momentum for global economic growth and an important forum that supports
the trade system on the basis of openness, freedom and equality.

When the global economic growth contracted from 3.9 percent in 2011 to
3.2 percent in 2012, APEC’s GDP grew by 4.1 percent during the same
period, he said.

The flow of foreign direct investment
(FDI) into APEC member economies has increased, he said, noting that
trade within APEC increased by 3.9 percent compared with a shrink of 1.9
percent for the rest of the world.

Last year, APEC
exports raised by 2.6 percent to 8,700 billion USD at a time when many
powers such as the US and the EU suffered serious impacts of the
global financial and public debt crises, he said.

The
APEC members include the current 11 TPP members — Australia ,
Brunei , Canada , Chile , Malaysia , Mexico , New Zealand
, Peru , Singapore , the United States and Vietnam .

The others are Russia, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.-VNA