President Võ Văn Thưởng and spouse departs from Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội for the United States on Tuesday morning. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng, his wife and a high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam left Hà Nội on Tuesday to attend the 2023 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and bilateral activities in the United States from November 14-17 at the invitation of President Joe Biden.

President Thưởng and his spouse are accompanied by Chairman of the Presidential Office Lê Khánh Hải, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên, Minister of Finance Hồ Đức Phớc, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Education Nguyễn Đắc Vinh, among others.

The Asia-Pacific region and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum are important priorities in Việt Nam's foreign policy which aims to foster and enhance multilateral diplomacy, helping to protect and promote security and development interests and elevating the country's position.

Since Việt Nam joined APEC 25 years ago, Việt Nam has made positive and active contributions to the forum, proposing many initiatives and cooperation projects that are highly appreciated by other APEC members, contributing to promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and economic connection in the region, and maintaining APEC's role as a leading economic connection mechanism in Asia-Pacific.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam-US relations have been developing strongly in the past time with a milestone marking the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainable Development between the two nations on the occasion of US President Joe Biden's State visit to Việt Nam in September 2023 at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam's Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

The two sides have signed many cooperation agreements on economy, science-technology, education-training, and humanitarian issues, including commercial contracts with a total value of over 10 billion USD.

With the special significance of this year's APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and in the context of the Việt Nam-US growing relations, President Thưởng's trip to attend the event and his bilateral activities are of importance both multilaterally and bilaterally, helping to maintain and strengthen external relations for peace, stability, and favourable conditions for the country's development.

The theme of this year’s APEC is “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All”. With a focus on connectivity, innovation and inclusiveness, APEC leaders will look into many issues of the global economy's concern, including the maintenance of sustainable supply chains, digital transformation, digital trade, energy transition, climate change fight, and green economy.

One of the purposes of APEC 2023 is to mark 30 years since the first APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was held in the US. The US’s hosting of the meeting for the third time shows its commitment to regional economic development as well as its sense of responsibility towards the global economy. — VNS