Hanoi (VNA) –Peruvian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nestor Popolizio has spoken highlyof cooperation prospects between his country and Vietnam, especially when thetwo countries are the hosts of two APEC Years in a row.

Vietnam’s hosting of the APECYear 2017, right after Peru, allows the close coordination between the twoGovernments and promote the approach and determination of shared concerns infishery and the fight against drug crimes, Popolizio said.

He recalled the talks in Lima inNovember 2016 between Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and hisVietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang, during which numerous cooperationagreements were signed.

Based on those commitments, thefirst meeting of the Vietnam-Peru Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic andTechnological Cooperation was held on October 23, 2017, thus helping boostbilateral collaboration in trade, investment and tourism, the Deputy Minister noted.

Regarding the Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the diplomat affirmed that since itsfoundation, APEC has become a platform to foster economic growth in the region,with intra-regional trade up seven-fold. Strengthening trade and investmentliberalisation has contributed to improving socio-economic indexes of APECeconomies.

In the context of increasingprotectionism and emerging global challenges, Peru proposed APEC betterdisseminate information about the benefits of trade liberalisation fordevelopment goals, link its trade-related agenda with its macro-economicagenda, pay more attention to adjustment costs which are becoming exhausted dueto free trade agreements, and at the same time intensify economic andtechnological cooperation, particularly in increasing the quality of humanresources.

About the message sent by thePeruvian Government to the host Vietnam ahead of President Pedro PabloKuczynski’s attendance at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, Popolizio said thatPeru hopes APEC 2017 will continue working to achieve the Bogor goals by 2020,including trade and investment liberalisation, trade facilitation and enhancingeconomic and technological cooperation.

The country also expects APEC’simplementation of the Vision 2020, initiated in Lima last year, will beconsolidated through the approval of the Vietnamese side in order toinstitutionalise this document.

On the basis of the LimaDeclaration on Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), Peru hopesleaders of APEC economies would adopt an Action Plan on the Declaration,clearing the path to realise the initiative to establish a free trade area in theregion in the near future, he added.

The APEC Economic Leaders’Meeting is scheduled for November 6-11 in Da Nang city.

Vietnam is expected to welcomearound 10,000 delegates, including leaders of 21 APEC member economies, over2,000 leading corporate executives and nearly 3,000 reporters in the region andthe world.

Established in 1989, theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) comprises 21 economies, includingAustralia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan,the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru,the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US, andVietnam.-VNA