Senior officials review progress of APEC cooperation

DA NANG, Vietnam — Over 200 senior officials and delegates from member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) met here on Monday, kick-starting the 2017 APEC economic leaders' week.

The concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) would focus on two key objectives - reviewing the progress of APEC cooperation over the past 10 months and completing preparations in terms of agendas and documents' contents for the 29th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Bui Thanh Son, Vietnamese deputy foreign minister and APEC 2017 SOM chair, said at the opening of the two-day meeting.

Son confirmed that amid a stable recovery of the global and regional economies, 21 APEC members have gained important achievements and reached consensus on many issues, helping realize the theme and priorities of APEC Year 2017.

However, APEC economies are facing a number of challenges, so it is necessary for them to take actions to create new dynamism for APEC cooperation to accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth, bolster regional economic integration, and fully tap the enormous potential of the business sectors, and improve food security.

Under the theme of "Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future," Vietnam set four priorities during its rotating APEC chairmanship this year - promoting sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth; deepening regional economic integration; strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises' competitiveness and innovation in the digital age; and enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture in response to climate change.