Deputy Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (third from left) at a press conference held at the closing of the second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in Hà Nội on Thursday.— VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — APEC member economies strongly concur with the need to maintain the forum’s role as a driving force of regional economic growth and incubator of co-operation initiatives for the common prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.

This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn at a press conference held at the closing of the second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in Hà Nội on Thursday.

SOM2 agreed to keep promoting the completion of the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region by 2020, said Sơn, who is also APEC 2017 SOM Chair.

“Participants reached a consensus that the implementation of Bogor Goals must be associated with creating equal opportunities for every citizen and enterprise to contribute to, and benefit from, achievements of regional economic growth and linkage, and to contribute to global efforts for sustainable development,” said Sơn.

“In parallel, APEC needs to enhance response capability and creativity in the context of the rapidly developing fourth industrial revolution.”

During their two-day meeting, APEC senior officials applauded the adoption of a framework on human resources development in the digital age at the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Human Resources Development in the Digital Age held in Hà Nội on Monday.

Sơn said the dialogue was Việt Nam’s initiative contributing to APEC’s efforts to develop skilled and qualified human resources, satisfying rising requirements of the digital age from the employment market in the region.

“For Việt Nam, human resources development to adapt itself to the digital age is one of priorities in the country’s development strategy,” he said. “APEC has determined that policy measures to enhance competitiveness, skills, training and retraining of labourers in the digital age is one of initial crucial outcomes coming out at a ministerial-level of the APEC Vietnam 2017.”

Sơn noted that another Vietnamese initiative, the Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue on APEC Towards 2020 and Beyond held on Tuesday, was of practical signifcance in implementing APEC leaders’s direction at the Lima Summit last year on further discussion on APEC future.

Results of the dialogue together with recommendations by the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council which met on Monday established grounds for senior officials to discuss necessary steps to the formation of APEC’s vision towards 2020 and the following years, the press was told. These results will also be reported to trade ministers of APEC when they meet this weekend in the capital city.

“Việt Nam’s widely-supported initiatives once again demonstrate the practicality of APEC co-operation, and general expectations of member economies towards an APEC community of sustainable and inclusive development,” Son said.

SOM2 heard reports from committees and working groups on the formation of certain essential co-operation documents in the fields of micro, small and medium enterprises, food security and sustainable agriculture, facilitating e-commerce and internet-based economy.

Speaking at the press conference, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Dr Alan Bollard, stressed that to understand the world better in the context of anti-globalisation, APEC member economies were trying to adopt new initiatives.

“It has been a difficult year for APEC as we have to come to terms with the view about globalisation. In the past it was part of an important boost to improve growth in the region. Now we are told that it is not enough, we have to concern ourselves with what is going inside the economies as well.

“Việt Nam has been leading a lot of work in that area. Việt Nam has been helping us figuring out how we can go throughout the year,” Bollard said. — VNS