From November 14-16, the APEC Business Summit 2023 took place in San Francisco, USA, with the participation of nearly 2,000 leading business leaders from around the world and the Asia- Pacific region, international organizations, research institutes, and universities in the region.

This is the most important event for the regional business community, held annually during APEC High-Level Week, aiming to create opportunities for businesses to meet, exchange ideas directly, and present recommendations to APEC leaders .

With the theme "Creating Economic Opportunities: Sustainable. Inclusive. Resilient. Innovative," this year's conference includes 20 discussion sessions focusing on top concerns of the business community.

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The President delivers a speech at the conference. Photo: VNA

President Vo Van Thuong, along with the Presidents of the United States, South Korea, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and the Prime Ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, were the honored guests at this year's conference.

In his opening remarks for the discussion on "Sustainable and Inclusive Growth," President Vo Van Thuong pointed out four major contradictions in the current global economy.

Economic growth and increasing wealth have been accompanied by widening wealth inequality and worsening environmental degradation. After more than three decades of the world benefiting from globalization and forming a network of intertwined and interdependent international economic relations, the trend towards protectionism and decoupling is intensifying.

Science and technology are developing rapidly and dramatically, with widespread global influence, yet the institutional framework remains fundamentally limited to the national level. Science and technology offer enormous opportunities for development but also harbor unforeseen dangers. Economies pursuing growth models that encourage consumption, even excessive consumption, are unable to mobilize sufficient resources for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The President emphasized that to continue pursuing the lofty goals set forth, a new, inclusive, harmonious, and humane mindset is needed. It is essential to ensure the mutually beneficial relationship between economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection; to maintain an open and interconnected global economy while simultaneously ensuring the economic security of nations. Global governance of technology (especially artificial intelligence and biotechnology) should not only focus on managing the development of these technologies but also address the socio-economic, cultural, and political consequences arising from this process. Resources should be prioritized for sustainable and inclusive development goals.

APEC has always been a "nursery" for ideas.

According to the President, APEC has always been a "nursery" for ideas on economic integration, laying the foundation for global cooperation agreements. APEC has also been at the forefront of promoting green growth, responding to natural disasters, strongly supporting gender equality, assisting small and medium-sized enterprises, and improving the quality of healthcare and education. In these successes, the business community in the region has always played a crucial role and made significant contributions.

The President stated that the business community has always been an important part of the APEC process, making positive contributions to policy development and implementation, as well as promoting new ideas and thinking.

The President called on the business community to work alongside the State in fulfilling commitments to sustainable development, pursuing long-term economic, environmental, and social goals; increasing investment in science and technology, investing in human resources, and investing in building inclusive and resilient communities.

Sharing Vietnam's development views and policies with the Asia-Pacific business community, the President affirmed that maintaining sustainable economic growth coupled with achieving social progress and equity, protecting the ecological environment, and ensuring that all citizens can realize their potential, participate in, and equally enjoy the fruits of development is a consistent requirement throughout Vietnam's development process.

Economic growth coupled with social progress and equity must be implemented at every step, in every policy, and throughout the entire development process; social progress, equity, and the environment should not be "sacrificed" in pursuit of mere economic growth.

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The APEC Business Summit 2023 welcomed more than 30 speakers, including world leaders and global business executives. Photo: VNA

With that perspective, Vietnam is implementing a comprehensive set of solutions: building an independent and self-reliant economy coupled with active and proactive international integration; prioritizing domestic resources as the fundamental, strategic, and decisive factor, while considering external resources as important and breakthroughs; strengthening the management and efficient use of resources; protecting the environment and responding to climate change; promoting green transformation towards global climate goals and commitments; and creating an environment that encourages the poor and vulnerable to strive for self-improvement, integrate into the community, and eliminate discrimination in society.

With the APEC Business Summit 2023 welcoming over 30 speakers, including world leaders and global business executives, Vietnam prioritizes attracting investment projects in sectors such as: Science and technology, innovation; Green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy; Electronic components, electric vehicles...; Semiconductor manufacturing, new energy (such as hydrogen), renewable energy; Development of financial centers, green finance; Biotechnology, healthcare…

The President emphasized that APEC's success can only be achieved on the basis of friendly and trusting relations among members, the cooperation of businesses and people, and affirmed Vietnam's readiness to work with APEC members and the Asia-Pacific business community to build a bright future for all its people.

Concluding his speech, the President quoted a poem by the early 20th-century poet Ina Coolbrith, which contained warm and bright verses about San Francisco:

From here, the city's Golden Gate,

Basking in the brilliant rays of the eastern sun,

The sunset cast a shimmering glow.

Residing in eternal glory,

The city of mist, and of dreams!

"In San Francisco, where we are meeting, let us together continue to illuminate the dreams of the city, of a dynamic, innovative, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region, and of a world of peace and cooperation," the President urged.

Vietnamnet.vn