He was speaking at the plenary session of the 18^th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi on November 16. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pham Gia Khiem, and Minister of Trade, Truong Dinh Tuyen, co-chaired the session.

Deputy PM Khiem said Vietnam’s aims towards a dynamic prosperous community have been realised and demonstrated through the determination of ministers during yesterday’s session.

At the plenary session, the meeting passed a report on the results of APEC Senior Official Meetings held since the beginning of the year by APEC SOM Chair Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Cong Phung.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Phung said senior officials agreed that member economies have made great strides in trade and investment - key APEC factors - within the APEC framework, considering the resumption of the Doha round one of their top priorities. SOMs approved the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap. Senior officials also agreed on model measures for developing bilateral free trade agreements and discussed the establishment of the APEC free trade area.

APEC senior officials debated a number of issues, including counter-terrorism, epidemic control measures and natural disaster recovery. Discussions on reforms, intellectual property and investment in information and technology also gained important results.

The report of the SOM Chair will be reviewed by ministers and submitted to economic leaders at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

Talking with a VOV reporter prior to the plenary session, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry, NG Lip Yong, said senior officials discussed many issues relating to trade and trade promotion among APEC member economies through the Hanoi Action Plan, resumption of the Doha round, as well as model measures for establishing bilateral and multi-lateral free trade areas. Conclusions of the discussion are expected to be announced after the plenary session.