Vietnam is proving its important role in APEC through its initiatives on APEC’s three pillars – trade liberalization, trade facilitation and technological cooperation.

The country officially joined APEC in November 1998. Since then, it has successfully implemented 57 initiatives in most fields including trade, investment, technology, healthcare, anti-terrorism, and emergency preparedness.

Vietnam’s activities within APEC have strengthened ASEAN’s role, boosting bilateral cooperation within APEC.

Vietnam hosted APEC Year 2006, the 14^th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the Foreign and Economic Ministers’ Meeting, the CEO Summit, and six ministerial meetings in such areas as trade, small- and medium-sized enterprises, finance, tourism, banking, and sustainable development. In that year, Vietnam also held three senior officials’ meetings, and hundreds of meetings for special working groups.

Over the past 12 years, APEC membership has also improved Vietnam’s status in the international arena.

Vietnam has become a member of the WTO and was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It also assumed the ASEAN chairmanship in 2010, successfully hosting the 16^th and 17^th ASEAN Summits. All of these events have helped improve the voice and image of the country in the region and the world.

At the 18^th APEC meeting, State President Nguyen Minh Triet was one of the five APEC leaders invited to make speeches at the 2010 CEO Summit.

In his speech, President Triet stressed that the Asia-Pacific region, especially Southeast Asia, continues to be a driving force for the recovery and growth of the global economy.

He said that coordination and joint efforts by the international community are essential and APEC needs to continue addressing the aftermath of the global financial crisis and bring the world’s economy to a new phase.

Mr Triet emphasized that Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the ASEAN community and the Asia-Pacific region. He said the country highly values the contributions made by the business community to its average growth rate of 7-8 percent over the past 25 years and he attributed part of this development to cooperation programmes within the Mekong region, ASEAN, East Asia, APEC, ASEM and the WTO.