Workshop spotlights draft APEC action plan on rural-urban development

The event was held by the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) and the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It was the fourth activity within the framework of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS) in 2017.

Director of the International Cooperation Department Tran Kim Long said as the host of APEC activities and the PPFS in 2017, Vietnam has built a draft action plan for the APEC Strategic Framework on Rural-Urban Development to Strengthen Food Security and Quality Growth, approved at APEC Peru 2016.

The growth quality in rural areas amid urbanisation and globalisation needs to be associated with income raising opportunities, ensuring employment, forming local and regional chain connectivity, and settling social issues such as gender equality, community integration and knowledge improvement, he noted.

At the workshop, participants discussed the main content and priorities that should be part of the draft action plan, including inclusive economic development, social issues, sustainable management of natural resources, and State management efficiency.

Rural development and poverty alleviation in APEC are considered important issues of almost all member economies. The region’s efforts in rural development and poverty elimination have so far resulted in encouraging outcomes.

However, there remains an array of challenges in the region such as the global economic crisis, climate change and epidemics that have negatively affected the socio-economic situation, especially in rural areas, and the stability in each member economy as well as the whole APEC region. They have also hampered the realisation of APEC goals and the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.-