The 15^th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will be held in Sydney, Australia from September 8-9.
However, the 19^th annual APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) entitled“ Strengthening our Community: Building a Sustainable Future” opened on September 6 with a focus on climate change and clean energy development; support for a multi-lateral trade system and the WTO; regional economic integration; security and the reform and expansion of APEC.

Energy security and climate change are the main focus of the summit. In the host country’s opinion on climate change, APEC member economies should take the lead in cutting down greenhouse gases. Annually, the world releases 24 billion tonnes of CO2 of which the highest levels come from the US with 5.8 billion tonnes, equivalent to 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. The CO2 emissions have resulted in major climate changes, causing natural disasters to humankind. The fight against climate change will succeed unless the countries with the highest level of greenhouse gases pledge  to reduce CO2.

Australia hopes that at the 15^th APEC Summit, leaders of the member economies will reach a consensus on a greenhouse gas limit which should be agreed by developed countries. APEC leaders hope that this result will usher in a new period of clean energy development and will provide a basis for the UN Conference on Climate Change to be held in Bali, Indonesia to achieve great success.

In terms of econoimc integration, a proposal for building the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) is one of the issues of APEC’s major concern. If FTAAP is achieved, creating a large free trade area running from China to Chile will help reduce expenditure by US$148 billion per annum.

Furthermore, FTAAP will promote economic integration in the Asia Pacific region and create a close linkage among APEC member economies.

2007 ends the temporary period for admitting new members. Ten economies are currently applying for APEC membership, not only those from the Asia Pacific region but also from other continents.

APEC leaders will continue discussing issues relating to APEC reform and APEC’s support for the WTO Doha round, trade and investment facilitation and anti-terrorism and anti-corruption to make APEC’s activities more effective.

Apart from playing a role as a host country, Australia is very proud of being an APEC founder. With this great responsibility, Australia is making positive contributions to the 15^th APEC Summit in a bid to represent a major landmark in the history and development of APEC.

After nearly two decades since its establishment in 1989 with 21 member economies, APEC accounts for 40 percent of the world population, 56 percent of the world’s GDP and nearly half of the global trade, becoming a driving force behind the growth and development in the Asia Pacific region and the world as a whole.

Being the youngest APEC member, Vietnam has made important contributions to the strong development of the forum. The 14^th APEC Summit held in Hanoi last year witnessed a host of the initiatives launched by Vietnam to contribute to APEC’s future development. Noteworthy was that the Hanoi Plan to implement the Busan road map and the Plan for APEC Reform, which serves as a foundation for APEC’s economic activities over the next 15 years to perfect the organisation’s operation mechanisms.

Therefore, Vietnam’s responsibility and its role in APEC’s cooperation and development process will be seen through each APEC summit, from APEC 2007 to APEC 2020. This is also a message given by State President Tran Duc Luong to the 15^th APEC Summit. Vietnam’s contributions and APEC member economies’ efforts will create a new strength and a new position for APEC which not only plays a key role in stimulating economic growth in the region and the world but also has a positive voice in resolving global issues.