APEC Business Advisory Council to meet in Canada

The meeting will gather business leaders from APEC member economies to discuss issues related to trade, economic cooperation and regional connectivity to prepare for the APEC Economic Leaders Week in Vietnam next November.

A Vietnamese delegation led by ABAC Vietnam Chairman Hoang Van Dung will attend the meeting. In addition, Permanent Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son will participate in a number of events within the framework of the meeting.

According to Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Minister of International Trade, through cooperation with the ABAC, Canada has been able to scale up trade and investment ties with Pacific nations and territories, including growing Asian markets.

By working together, APEC economies could achieve benefits of sustainable and inclusive trade, thus bringing prosperity to people in the region, she added.

As scheduled, the official will attend the ABAC meeting to promote Canada’s trade agenda as well as its commitments to representatives of businesses of different sizes in the Asia-Pacific region.

The event will be co-organised by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and ABAC Canada Secretariat.

It will feature a series of symposiums, with work programme covering priorities such as deepening regional economic integration, achieving sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth, enhancing MSMEs’ competitiveness, and ensuring food security.

A highlight of the meeting is the APEC-Canada Growing Business Partnership Symposium on Technology and Innovation. In 2015, the Canadian Government announced to spend 4.74 million CAD (around US$3.8 million) on the APEC-Canada Growing Business Partnership Project to help member economies alleviate poverty and integrate in the global market.

Established in 1995, the ABAC is the private sector arm of the APEC to advise APEC economic leaders and officials on issues of interest to business.