Hanoi (VNA) – The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) 2017 Second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 2) concluded in Hanoi on May18, with fruitful outcomes in various fields.

Presided over by Vietnam’s Deputy Foreign Minister Bui ThanhSon, who is APEC 2017 SOM Chair, the two-day meeting discussed APEC’s long-termcooperation orientations and proposals on the reform of APEC apparatus to makeit more effective in promoting initiatives benefiting businesses and people.

Comprising nearly 50 meetings and workshops, SOM 2 drew about2,300 delegates from 21 member economies, the business community, scholars aswell as representatives from international organisations and ministries andsectors of host Vietnam.

The SOM 2 and related meetings played a key role in speedingup the implementation of the theme and four priorities of the APEC Year 2017that were approved at the SOM 1 in Nha Trang in March.

Major outcomes of the meeting include member economies’strong support for APEC’s role as a motivation for regional economic growth andconnection and a cradle of cooperation and linkage ideas for common prosperity ofthe Asia-Pacific region.

APEC member economies showed determination to complete theBogor Goal on trade and investment following the set roadmap in 2020 in combinationwith creating equal opportunities for all people and enterprises to join andbenefit from regional economic growth and connection achievements, thuscontributing to the global efforts on sustainable development.

Meanwhile, participants at the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue onAPEC Towards 2020 and the Future concurred that the post-2020 APEC Vision is asignificant issue that needs to be discussed during 2017. They also proposedtimetable, targets and contents of cooperation as well as specific steps to buildthe vision.

At the same time, the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Human ResourcesDevelopment in the Digital Age approved a framework on human resourcesdevelopment in the digital age, which will be submitted to APEC leaders. As aninitiative proposed by the host country, the framework is expected to supportAPEC efforts to develop skilled human resources to meet new demands of the digitalera and implement strategies on quality and inclusive growth.

The meetings also reviewed and accelerated the implementationof long-term programmes of the forum, especially the action programmes ofmember economies to realise the new APEC Agenda on structural reform, the APECConnectivity Blueprint, the APEC roadmap on improving services competitiveness,and Lima Declaration on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

Many new ideas were also given on four priorities of APECYear 2017, especially the proposal on designing an action plan to promoteeconomic, financial and social inclusion in the APEC region with an aim of givingall people equal opportunities to benefit from regional growth and connection.

The SOM 2 and related meetings marked the halfway ofVietnam’s hosting of APEC Year 2017, showing the country’s efforts to strengtheninternational integration as well as its view of considering the Asia-Pacificregion and APEC a focus of its foreign policy.

Six Vietnamese ministries namely the Ministries of Industryand Trade; Foreign Affairs; Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; Planning andInvestment; Science and Technology; and Construction took the charge of theChair and Co-chair of committees, working groups and activities during the SOM2.

Many activities were held on the sidelines of the meetings,including tours of President Ho Chi Minh’s house in Hanoi and Sa Pa in thenorthern province of Lao Cai, thus introducing to delegates the culture, peopleas well as trade, investment and tourism potential ofVietnam.-VNA