Vietnam Announces Theme of 2006 APEC

“Directing towards an Active Community for Sustainable Development and Prosperity” will be the theme of the upcoming Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be held in Hanoi next year, the Vietnamese government has announced.

 

The four minor supporting subjects were also informed including further implementing Busan Roadmap to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region, promoting economic-technical cooperation to narrow the gap and solidly develop, improving business environments and cementing community.

 

Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, who attended the summit in Korea last week, pledged that the country and its people will do the utmost to organize the event successfully.

 

Luong stressed with the international news press that Vietnam has one of the safest political environments in the world; it’s a favorable conditions to hold any international summit. Some recent conferences have smoothly ran, such as fifth ASEM, 13^th APPF, the official added.

 

Vietnam has established a National Committee for APEC 2006 under the government and the APEC Research Center of Vietnam to prepare for the future event.

Founded in November 1989, APEC now has 21 member economies. Vietnam joined

the organization at the APEC Foreign-Economic Ministers Meeting in November 1998.

Over the past six years, the number of Vietnam’s cooperation projects within the framework of APEC has been on the rise, focusing on new areas such as competitive policy, intellectual property, biotechnology, e-commerce and information technology.

To date, the country has implemented 11 projects within the APEC cooperation programs, with a total investment capital of $6 million.