State President Truong Tan Sang is leading the Vietnamese delegation to the summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama. 

Since its establishment in 1989, APEC has become the largest economic trade cooperation group in the Asia Pacific region. The 21-member bloc has worked toward boosting economic growth and facilitating liberalisation of trade and investment. It currently makes up 40 percent of the global population, 55 percent of GDP and 43 percent of trade. 

APEC is stepping up reform efforts to improve the efficiency of cooperation and its role in the world economy restructuring process, especially in the face of the emergence of other regional mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and G20. 

Vietnam joined the regional bloc in November 1998, and it has since been an active and responsible member of the organisation. It successfully hosted the 14^th APEC Summit in 2006, leaving good impressions on APEC members.

Vietnam has made a significant contribution to formulating APEC cooperation contents, strategies and action plans in all fields and seriously implemented the organisation’s commitments. It has proposed about 70 initiatives on trade, investment, technical cooperation, health care, and responses to a state of emergency and counter-terrorism. Intra-APEC cooperation has helped improve Vietnam’s position in the region and the world, and strengthen bilateral relations with important partners in the Asia-Pacific region. 

By joining the bloc, Vietnam has gained better access to capital sources, modern technology and management experience through investment and trade activities with major economies like the US, Japan, China and Canada.

Annual business activities such as APEC CEO Summits, investment fairs, and dialogues between the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the heads of State have helped Vietnam establish close links with regional business communities for mutual benefit.

Meeting in Hawaii this time, the leaders of the 21 member economies will focus on three priority areas, namely regional economic connectivity and trade expansion, green growth, and advancing regulatory cooperation and convergence. Cooperation on the technical economy and human security will be discussed at ministerial meetings and senior officials meetings (SOMs). 

These topics are of Vietnam’s great concern as the country is making every effort to restructure its economy, develop human resources, finalise the market institutions, connect regional trade and economies, and promote green growth.

Economic experts say that given global economic complications, increasing trade exchanges and cooperation to address economic issues and ride out crisis will open up new opportunities for all APEC members to speed up steady economic development.

Nguyen Nguyet Nga, head of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says Vietnam should identify priority areas for each period to make the most of the APEC cooperation mechanism. This year, she says, it should focus on regional economic connectivity, response to climate change, human resource development, and the shifting to the green growth model with the participation of businesses.

Vietnam’s participation in APEC Summit 2011 reflects the recent 11^th Party Congress’s external policy of proactively promoting international integration, continuing to play an important role in Asia-Pacific regional cooperation frameworks, including APEC. It will offer an opportunity for Vietnam to boost political, trade and investment relations with regional partners.