Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

HÀ NỘI – State President Lương Cường’s upcoming trip to attend the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders' Week (AELW) and engage in bilateral activities in the Republic of Korea (RoK) holds great significance in various aspects, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Hằng told the press ahead of the trip.

The visit will take place from October 29 to November 1 at the invitation of Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

Over more than three decades of formation and development, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has become a leading regional mechanism for cooperation and economic integration, comprising 21 member economies, including three of the world’s five largest economies and accounting for 46 per cent of global trade and 61 per cent of global GDP.

The 2025 AELW aims to maintain and strengthen the spirit of dialogue and cooperation, foster trade, investment and economic connectivity and sustain growth momentum, while responding to global challenges and shaping the region’s development future through science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

Việt Nam expects and believes that under the RoK’s chairmanship, APEC 2025 will yield positive outcomes that reaffirm APEC’s role as a driver of growth and economic integration, while promoting its pioneering position in the current era of technology and innovation, Hằng stressed.

She said that, at this year’s AELW, Việt Nam - one of the region’s fastest-growing economies, a country with a steadily rising international standing, and the host of APEC 2027 – will continue to make responsible contributions to promoting APEC cooperation and multilateralism, as well as joining collective efforts for peace, stability and sustainable and prosperous development in the region and the world.

The President’s participation in APEC 2025 is a concrete step in implementing the foreign policy of the Party and State, especially the Politburo's Resolution No 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new context.

It demonstrates Vietnam’s strategic shift from a mindset of 'receiving' to one of 'contributing', from 'integration' to 'comprehensive, deep integration', and from a 'latecomer' economy to one that is proactively pioneering in emerging fields.

During the event, the Vietnamese leader will join other APEC leaders in discussing major issues of cooperation and development, agreeing on orientations to enhance trade, investment, connectivity, green transition and digital transformation, and science and technology collaboration, among other critical fields.

He will also meet with leaders of other APEC member economies, and hold working sessions with top global corporations and business leaders, helping deepen Việt Nam’s bilateral ties with key partners and mobilise resources to serve its socio-economic development goals.

A highlight of the trip will be President Cường’s keynote address at the APEC CEO Summit, attended by nearly 2,000 regional business executives. He is expected to deliver a strong message on Việt Nam’s potential, advantages, strategic policies and breakthroughs, thereby reinforcing international confidence in Việt Nam’s new development trajectory and attracting financial and technological resources to support the nation’s innovation, green transition, and digital transformation.

Given that the RoK is one of Việt Nam’s leading economic partners, and amid the strong development of Việt Nam-RoK relations, the visit also provides an opportunity for the two sides to strengthen their political foundation, effectively implement high-level agreements, and make bilateral cooperation more substantive and result-oriented, contributing to each country’s development goals.

Hằng expressed confidence that President Cường’s visit will be a resounding success, further affirming the image of a self-reliant, confident, and proactive Việt Nam that is entering a new era of development and making ever more responsible and effective contributions to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity. VNA/VNS