The conference was also attended by the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and representatives of international and regional organizations such as the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the APEC Secretariat. The Vietnamese delegation led by Party Central Committee member and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien served as Co-Head of the Delegation to attend the conference.
The conference focused on discussing two main topics: i) Innovation and Prosperity: How to exploit opportunities and promote economic growth, while addressing regional challenges to build a sustainable Asia- Pacific region and ii) Connectivity: Policy priorities on enhancing the resilience and adaptability of supply chains, how to leverage emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support this process, while promoting trade facilitation in the APEC region; the role of the WTO in the context of the changing global trade order, how APEC - an incubator of ideas - addresses common challenges.
The 36th Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting (AMM 36) was co-chaired by Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo.
At the same time, the 36th APEC Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting (AMM 36) was also attended by Foreign Ministers, Economic and Trade Ministers and Heads of Delegations of 21 APEC member economies.
The Vietnamese delegation led by Party Central Committee member and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien as Co-Head of the Delegation attended the Conference.
At the Conference, the Ministers listened to reports from the Chair of APEC Senior Officials (SOM), the APEC Secretariat and the Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), along with speeches from two guests: Mr. Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of OECD and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of WTO, updating on the global trade situation and the operation of the multilateral trading system (MTS).
Reaffirming their commitment to implementing the Putrajaya Vision 2040 on building an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community, the Ministers emphasized the importance of innovation, digital transformation and sustainable application of artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting inclusive economic growth and prosperity in the region. The Ministers reaffirmed APEC's role as the region's leading economic cooperation forum, an important dialogue and cooperation mechanism to promote sustainable, inclusive and cohesive growth in the Asia-Pacific.
In the context of the region undergoing profound structural and technological changes, APEC is an incubator of ideas and a pioneer in promoting innovation, leveraging new technologies such as AI to expand economic cooperation, enhance the resilience of supply chains, promote a free and open trade and investment environment, thereby contributing to strengthening the MTS with the WTO as the center towards an innovative, prosperous and connected Asia-Pacific region.
Regarding the role of the WTO, Ministers shared the view that the WTO is important in promoting trade, and that WTO commitments and rules are an integral part of the global trading system. In that spirit, Ministers welcomed and appreciated efforts to deepen and promote discussions within the WTO on contemporary trade issues.
Speaking at the Conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared with APEC members some key contents in regional cooperation to ensure free, open, sustainable and inclusive trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien pledged to closely coordinate with APEC members to promote AI applications for inclusive and sustainable development, in accordance with APEC's voluntary, flexible and non-binding principles.
At the Conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared with APEC members some key contents in regional cooperation to ensure free, open, sustainable and inclusive trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region:
Firstly, regarding digital transformation and AI, Vietnam welcomes the AI Initiative in APEC proposed by Korea, emphasizing that the development and application of AI must be human-centered, ensuring safety, reliability and bringing common benefits to the whole society. The Minister proposed that APEC members strengthen cooperation, share experiences and provide technical assistance in AI capacity building, especially in human resource training, connecting labor supply and demand and supporting people to access free or low-cost AI tools. The Minister pledged to coordinate closely with APEC members to promote AI applications for inclusive and sustainable development, in accordance with APEC's voluntary, flexible and non-binding principles.
Second, regarding connectivity and strengthening the resilience of supply chains, the Minister affirmed the importance of diversifying supply chains and developing modern logistics infrastructure that is adaptable to climate change. Vietnam is actively expanding its network of free trade agreements (FTAs) and investing in developing a strategic transport system to enhance regional connectivity. Vietnam proposed that APEC continue to promote investment cooperation, provide green finance and technology transfer, and support developing economies in applying digital technology and AI in supply chain management, contributing to ensuring seamless and smooth regional trade flows.
Third , regarding the multilateral trading system, the Minister highly appreciated the central role of the WTO in promoting trade liberalization, maintaining transparent rules and supporting the efficient operation of the global supply chain. The Minister requested WTO members to actively promote the reform process, especially in the area of dispute settlement mechanisms, to improve the effectiveness of the organization's operations. The Minister informed that Vietnam has ratified the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement Phase I, participated in the Interim Appellate Arbitration Mechanism (MPIA) and committed to continue supporting and actively contributing to the common effort to strengthen fair, sustainable and inclusive MTS.
Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoi-nghi-lien-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-kinh-te-apec-lan-thu-36-amm-36-.html
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the second meeting of the Steering Committee on private economic development.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/11/01/1762006716873_dsc-9145-jpg.webp)
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