Three important documents were adopted at the 24th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting that wrapped up yesterday in HCM City.— VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HCM CITY — Three important documents were adopted at the 24^th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting that wrapped up yesterday in HCM City.

They are the APEC SME Ministers’ Initiative on Promoting Innovative Start-ups, the Strategy on Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs and the 24th SME Ministers Statement, and all emphasise the importance of developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by APEC members.

Speaking to the media, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng, the chair of the 24th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting, said the APEC SME Ministers’ Initiative on Promoting Innovative Start-ups and the Strategy on Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs are expected to be submitted for the 2017 APEC Economic Leaders Week in Đà Nẵng in November.

Dr Wimonkan Kosumas, deputy director general of Thailand’s Office of SMEs Promotion, said green innovation is one way to achieve a sustainable economy.

“Green innovation is now a pathway to strengthen market access and also a huge area of innovation that is very impactful on our SMEs,” she said.

The APEC strategy promotes green innovation and sustainable development by trying to come up with prioritised sectors that can start working on such as food sector, infrastructure, green building, green construction and other several areas.

During the week-long (September 10-15) 2017 APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting, a series of meetings and forums took place, like the 2017 APEC Online-to-Offline Initiative Forum, APEC SME Finance Forum, APEC Start-up Forum, Digital Economy Forum, and the 45^th Meeting of the APEC Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Working Group.

In yesterday’s meeting APEC economies shared experiences and learnt from each other that their governments should have programmes for the development of SMEs, Dũng said.

“The meeting’s outcome contributes to orienting detailed policies and actions for developing SMEs, especially since in the digitally driven economy it is vital to shape a new model of growth.”

Sim Ann, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth, said the key directions in terms of the initiatives to support start-ups can be summarised through four concepts: innovation, skills development, productivity and internationalisation. 

The APEC SME Ministerial Meetings, held annually since 1994, sets out the direction for the Working Group. In September last year the SME Ministers endorsed the SMEWG Strategic Plan for 2017-20 which provided a roadmap to address critical issues pertaining to the growth of SMEs and micro enterprises in the APEC region like entrepreneurship, innovation and the internet and digital economy; financing for business expansion and capability development; inclusive business eco-system that supports SME growth; and market access for SMEs.

The next SME Ministerial Meeting will be held in Papua New Guinea. —VNS