Khanh Hoa (VNA) - Continuing itsagenda, the first Asia-Pacific Economic (APEC) Senior Officials Meeting (SOM1)will hear and discuss an array of reports during the March 2 afternoon session. Delegates to SOM1 are expected to hear theCommittee on Trade and Investment (CTI) Chair’s report on the outcomes of its firstmeeting, including the CTI’s priority areas and work plan for 2017. They will discuss ways APEC can supportthe multilateral trading system (MTS) and contribute to the 11th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference, as well as ways to furtherdeepen regional economic integration (REI), including the acceleration of workto achieve the Bogor Goals in the next steps towards the eventual realisation ofan Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). SOM1 is to deliberate progress inimplementing the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap (ASCR), including theway forward on the reporting and monitoring of its implementation. Also during the course of the session,SOM1 plans to discuss the reports of the Friends of the Chair (FotC) onConnectivity and the Ad Hoc Steering Group on the Internet Economy (AHSGIE)’sChair. It will also debate trade and investment facilitation and liberalizationwork, and task the CTI to coordinate with the Policy Support Unit (PSU) todesign the monitoring framework for Supply-chain Connectivity Framework ActionPlan (SCFAP) Phase II. The delegates are scheduled to hear the SOMSteering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE) Chair’s reporton SCE’s deliberations at SCE and SCE-COW (Committee of the Whole) meetings, includingthe SCE’s priorities and work plan for 2017. SOM1 will also exchange views oninitiatives to facilitate micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (MSMEs)greater participation in global value chains (GVCs), the business environmentfor MSMEs in the digital age, and the progress in the development of theStrategy on green and sustainable MSMEs. Earlier, in the morning session, SOM1endorsed the EC Chair’s report and noted the work plans of the FinanceMinisters’ Process and ABAC in 2017; the outcomes of the EC Policy Dialogue onGovernment Procurement; the proposal on promoting economic, financial andsocial inclusion in the APEC region; the proposal on “APEC Framework on HumanResources Development in the Digital Age”, and the proposal on “Bridging Gap inEconomic Development and Integration of Remote Areas for Sustainable Growth inthe APEC Region”. The APEC forum includes 21 members - Australia,Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republicof Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, thePhilippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. By the end of November 2016, the APEC membereconomies accounted for 39 percent of the world’s population and made up 59percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 48 percent of theglobal trade value.-VNA