HCM City (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlightedthe theme of the 24th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting(SMEMM), saying it demonstrates the aspiration of Vietnam to cooperate withother APEC member economies to foster SMEs’ innovation and global access in thedigital era.

Over the past 30 years of reform, Vietnam, from a poor country, became adeveloping and middle-income country in 2010, he said the opening session of the SMEMM held in Ho Chi Minh Cityon September 15.

The country’s development path is a vivid demonstration for the role and thesignificance of SMEs, he added.

He described the SME community as a main momentum for employment generation andcontribution to the maintenance of socio-economic growth and stability.

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, the National Assembly ofVietnam has promulgated the Law on Support for Small-and Medium-sizedEnterprises while the Government has issued a number of important policies tobuild a healthy and inclusive business environment, he said.

Vietnam hopes to receive cooperation from other APEC member economies toenhance the capacity of the tax system to encourage business production, faircompetition, and prevent transfer pricing and tax evasion of someforeign investors, he added.

The PM recommended building a support fundfor SMEs and encouraging them to strengthen connectivity with multinationalgroups and engage in the global value chains.

He suggested implementing more synchronousmeasures to increase SMEs' competitiveness and creativity such as facilitatingbusiness access to markets and deeper engagement in global value chains;enabling MSMEs to get access to new technologies, improve management capacity and increase competitive edge; promoting entrepreneurship and business ethics;and developing a sustainable and environmentally friendly startup ecosystem topromote innovation among SMEs in the region and value the role offemale leadership.

The PM called on countries in the Asian-Pacific region to foster trust anddetermination to maintain a peaceful environment and ensure safety and securityfor the free transfer of goods, services and investment inflows.

The 24th Small and Medium EnterprisesMeeting (SMEMM 24) is one of the most important ministerial events within theAPEC cooperation framework, which is expected to adopt a joint statement onpromoting start-up bussinesses and a strategy to develop green, sustainable andinnovative SMEs, he said.

Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21economies, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong,Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, PapuaNew Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the USand Vietnam.-VNA