THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Government News
VN attends 13th APEC Trade Ministerial Meeting
VNGOP – The Meeting of APEC Ministers responsible for trade was convened in Cairns, Australia, on July 5-6, 2007. The Vietnamese delegation headed by Deputy Trade Minister Nguyễn Cẩm Tú included representatives from ministries of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Industry, Science and Technology, National Defense, Government Office and Government Inspectorate.
The Meeting focused on some important topics, such as speeding up the Doha Round, regional integration in Asia-Pacific, structural reform in APEC economies, trade and investment liberation and facilitation, APEC reform, and economic-technical cooperation. The Meeting also discussed on preparations for the 15th APEC Business Summit to be held in Sydney, Australia, from September 5-9, 2007.
The ministers ratified the second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP 2) to reduce 5 percent of transaction costs by 2010 within APEC; and called for all members to accelerate the APEC Investment and encouragement facilitation program. The agenda also covered APEC reforms, intellectual property rights, and sharing experience on structural reforms.
On the sideline of the Meeting, Deputy Trade Minister Nguyễn Cẩm Tú had bilateral meetings with Australian, New Zealand counterparts and some other ASEAN ministers. He and the Russian Deputy Trade Minister signed a document marking the finish of Việt Nam-Russia bilateral negotiations for Russia's accession to WTO.
The Vietnamese delegation proactively boosted the implementation of the Hà Nội Action Plan approved by APEC leaders in November 2006, TFAP 2 and some economic-technical cooperation activities.
By Xuân Hồng