Viet Nam Deputy Prime Minister Opens APEC Senior Officials' Meeting - Webcast Available

The Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Mr. Vu Khoan, officially opened the start of the Viet Nam 2006 APEC year in Ha Noi today.

In his opening address to the APEC Senior Officials Plenary Meeting Mr. Vu highlighted the resurgent economic strength of the APEC region.

"Following the financial and monetary crisis of the late 1990s that seriously affected many member economies, APEC is now the most dynamic economic region of the world," Mr. Vu said.

"Trade and investment within APEC has seen a sharp rise, which has had positive impacts on the global economy.

The Deputy Prime Minister also drew attention to new opportunities in the global economy that he said must be shared between developed and developing economies.

"Thanks to the fast development of science and technology, never-before opportunities have been opened for mankind's advance on the one hand,? Mr. Vu said.

"But such development has also widened the gap between the economies of developed countries and those of developing countries.

"Therefore, promoting cooperation within the framework of ECOTECH is of great significance."

Mr. Vu said it was important for APEC Member Economies to be mindful of emerging threats to regional prosperity such as terrorism, energy and food security, money laundering and epidemics.

"Facing the emergence of several non-traditional threats that have serious impacts on both business environment and human security, it is imperative for us to strengthen our cooperation in response to them."

The First APEC Senior Officials' Meeting for 2006 began with a series of meetings, workshops and seminars covering a wide rage of APEC related issues on February 20.

The next major event in the APEC 2006 schedule is the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics that will take place in Da Nang on May 4-5.

A video of the Deputy Prime Minister's speech is available for download here:

 

Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Vu Khoan