Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc speaking at the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)'s meeting in Hạ Long City, Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Wednesday morning attended and made a speech at the third meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Hạ Long Bay City, Quảng Ninh Province.

150 delegate representatives from 17 APEC member economies also took part in the event.

In his remarks at the conference, the President said uncertainties due to the pandemic, geo-political competition, supply chain disruptions and wobbles of financial markets have tested the mettle and cohesion of the APEC economies.

The meeting offers an opportunity to step up cooperation within the private business bloc of APEC, and seek ways to recover production and business, promote trade and investment, and reconnect supply chains, towards innovative, sustainable and inclusive development, Phúc noted.

"At the opening session of ABAC III Session today, I would like to affirm that Việt Nam always supports and boosts the implementation of the Aotearoa Plan on the APEC 2040 vision and promote the APEC 2017 (Việt Nam) Joint Statement on "Creating new dynamics, Fostering a Shared Future" with the implementation of effective cooperative actions on pandemic response, growth model innovation, creative digital transformation, and adaptation to climate change and inclusive development," the State leader stressed.

President Phúc hoped that ABAC would come up with a number of new and practical proposals and suggestions to improve trade and investment in APEC with the crucial role of the WTO system; connect broken supply chains and human resources; support enterprises to maintain production and business activities on the foundation of the digital economy; green production with green technologies and agriculture; and promote cooperation in the development of clean energy, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction in the region.

Việt Nam and other APEC economies always appreciate and support the initiatives and recommendations of the ABAC community to report to the upcoming discussion between APEC leaders and ABAC.

In his speech, the President also mentioned the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s upbeat predictions regarding Việt Nam's economic prospects, which not only would continue to stabilise but even substantially recover with GDP growth of 6 per cent in 2022 and 7.2 per cent in 2023.

The country's trade turnover increased by 23 per cent to around US$670 billion last year, putting Việt Nam among the top 20 nations with the highest trade size in the world.

The IMF also forecast that Việt Nam’s economy will rank third in Southeast Asia by 2025 in terms of economic size, with its GDP exceeding $570 billion, Phúc said, adding that Việt Nam is working hard towards the goal of becoming a high-income, developed nation by 2045.

The country is an attractive investment destination in the world with nearly 35,000 active FDI projects, equal to total investment capital of nearly $430 billion from tens of thousands of businesses from 140 countries and territories.

Therefore, President Phúc said that this is a very good opportunity for APEC investors to come to Việt Nam and the country always welcomes APEC businesses to invest and cooperate for mutual benefit and development.

According to a report released by the United Nations in July 2021, Việt Nam was among the top 20 countries globally in FDI attraction. Việt Nam has emerged as one of the leading nations in ASEAN in terms of investment environment, which are working towards standards of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The country not only has the domestic market of 100 million people with increasing purchasing power, but also participates in 15 free trade agreements, including new-generation agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), the President added.

ABAC was created by APEC Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC. Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective leaders. They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to the Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual Leaders Meeting.

Earlier, President Phúc met with the ABAC delegation led by ABAC 2022 Chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul who said President Phúc's presence and speech at the meeting demonstrate Việt Nam’s strong commitment to settling issues of APEC businesses’ concern.

According to the Chairman, the council seeks solutions to promote trade, digitalisation and cyber security, support small-and medium-sized enterprises, boost circular economy and develop financial ecosystems.

Phúc lauded targets and solutions set by ABAC and noted his belief that there will be many proposals and initiatives raised at the meeting to further facilitate businesses’ operations.

Co-organised by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and ABAC Vietnam in Hạ Long city, the meeting will last until July 29. — VNS