Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu made these remarks during a forum with the theme of “Vietnam-APEC: 10 years of cooperation for the development of the Asia-Pacific region” which took place in Hanoi on Dec. 11.

As a member of APEC, Vietnam has actively participated in economic, trade and investment cooperation programmes, as well as trade liberalisation of the forum, Tu said.

The deputy minister noted that Vietnam has also joined forces with other nations in mapping out a number of collective plans of action, and put forth numerous initiatives and projects approved by APEC members.

Vietnam ’s successful hosting of the 16 th APEC Summit was evidence of the country’s massive contributions to the Asia-Pacific region and gave an indication of its capacity and improved position within the international arena, he stressed.

Do Thanh Hong, head of the Vietnam Senior Official Meetings (SOM), said in its capacity as SOM coordinator in APEC, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has spared no efforts to coordinate international economic integration work and, particularly, the cooperation within APEC.

On the other hand, the intermediate role played by SOMs is of huge significance in harmonising relations and dealing with problems within APEC before they are submitted to ministers and senior leaders, Hong added.

Together with its efforts to boost cooperation within the frameworks of other economic organisations and forums, Vietnam ’s economy has shown signs of flourishing on a stable foundation, the official noted.

This has been demonstrated through the increasing flow of foreign direct investment, he said, adding that by the end of November, the amount of committed FDI had reached 61 billion USD, a three-fold year-on-year increase, of which 75 percent came from APEC member economies.

The Asia-Pacific region also constitutes Vietnam ’s largest export market, importing 33.5 billion USD worth of products so far this year, representing more than 50 percent of the country’s total export turnover.

The APEC forum also provides good opportunities for Vietnam to hold bilateral meetings with other APEC member economies to resolve their differences and help local businesses to sign contracts with regional partners.

The forum on Vietnam-APEC cooperation was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Established in 1989, APEC consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the US and Vietnam./.