KHÁNH HÒA – Four working groups have completed their two-day sessions as part of the first Senior Officials’ Meeting of APEC (SOM-1), which is underway in Nha Trang city, in the south central coastal province of Khánh Hòa, from February 18 to March 3. 
The groups include the Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG), Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group (IPEG), Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI), and Chemical Dialogue (CD). 
Representatives agreed on key agenda to prepare for the high-level policy dialogue on food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate change adaptation, scheduled to take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho in August 2017. 
They also discussed strategies to support medium, small and micro enterprises with intellectual property; enhance the application of science-technology to cope with natural disasters; strengthen cooperation between manufacturers and governments to improve the management and safe use of chemicals; and create a favorable environment for innovation to boost regional economic growth and connectivity. 
At other meetings of the Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG), Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group (ACTWG), and Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (EGILAT), participants have continued discussions on important issues to promote APEC collaboration in labour movement, public involvement in anti-corruption, and legal trade on timber products, as well as agreed on cooperation priorities for this year. 
The Business Moves Group (BMG) discussed bilateral exchanges among member economies. 
On February 19, the first APEC Subcommittee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC-1) launched its activities, while the Life Sciences Innovation Forum – Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee (LSIF – RHSC) also commenced its first working session. 
As the host of APEC 2017, Vietnam has continued participating in and making active contributions to the related events. 
Vietnamese ministries and agencies presented their initiatives to promote innovation, effective coordination among policy enforcement agencies, and dialogues on corruption prevention and trade fraud. 
Established in 1989, APEC now comprises 21 economies, namely Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States; and Vietnam. 
Vietnam joined APEC in 1998, and hosted APEC in 2006.—VNS