Hanoi, (VNA) – The Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum can adapt to complex trading environmentssince the organisation is a purely voluntary and flexible pact, said ExecutiveDirector Alan Bollard in a recent interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency.

APEC, with less thanhalf of the world's population, accounts for more than half of the world's GDP,the economist noted ahead of the organisation's next summit to be held in thecentral city of Da Nang, Vietnam.

Grouping 21 differenteconomies together and joining them up around the Pacific rim, APEC hasadvantages over some legally binding institutional arrangements. If theydisagree on something, then a pathfinder group of economies can try to workthings out, noted the executive director.

By bringing togetherthe world's top two economies, namely the United States and China, andsome other much smaller ones, APEC can take advantage of what differenteconomies can do best, he said, pointing out the fact that the bloc has helpeddrive economic growth and improve living standards in the region.

Connectivity is one ofthe four priorities Vietnam has outlined for the upcoming APEC summit on foodsecurity and climate change.

According to Bollard,given the fact the majority of APEC population live very close to the coastaland river deltas and very subject to climatic changes, therefore, the bloc needsto be very careful about any effects of big climatic events. Moreover, there'sa lot of food waste due to inadequate transport or storage facilities, and poorconnectivity.

Concerning prioritytopics involving modernizing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughthe digital economy, the APEC Executive Director noted that China and theUnited States have set examples in that direction, with China now leading inmobile-based e-commerce and the United States on laptop-based e-commerce.

Revitalising SMEsthrough e-commerce has got the potential to "help develop a revolution inAPEC,” he said, adding that many supply chains are now making it possible toguarantee quality, finance, payments and market access for small businesses.

As for the Bogor Goals,set in Indonesia in 1994 to achieve free and open trade amongst developedeconomies by 2010 and developing economies by 2020, he admitted thatadvancements have been good in some areas and slower in others.

While 2020 is fastapproaching, Bollard said APEC would decide whether or not to work towardachieving the Bogor Goals after 2020 or look for a new direction.-VNA