The 36th Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting (AMM 36)

The conference was co-chaired by Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han Koo, with the participation of Foreign Ministers, Ministers of Economy and Trade and Heads of Delegations of 21 APEC member economies, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and representatives of international and regional organizations. The Vietnamese delegation was led by Party Central Committee member, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang as Co-Heads of Delegations attending the conference.

At the Conference, the Ministers focused on comprehensively assessing the cooperation situation of APEC in 2025, especially the progress of implementing the goals and action plans to realize the APEC Vision to 2040; together discussed in depth the specific orientations and measures to continue affirming and promoting the role of APEC on the three main pillars of cooperation: "Connectivity - Innovation - Prosperity".

Sharing a common understanding of the importance of the WTO in promoting trade, and the commitments and regulations in the WTO being an indispensable part of the global trading system, the Ministers welcomed and appreciated efforts to deepen and promote discussions in the WTO on contemporary trade issues; agreed on the need to continue strengthening economic linkages, supporting members to improve their capacity to participate in comprehensive and high-quality trade agreements, towards the Free Trade Area of the Asia- Pacific (FTAAP). The conference also called for enhancing connectivity, promoting structural reforms, removing bottlenecks, and strengthening safe, self-reliant, sustainable and open supply chains. The conference spent a lot of time discussing solutions to effectively take advantage of opportunities from digital transformation, science and technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI) to improve productivity, competitiveness and growth quality, while minimizing risks in the development process.
The Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation and coordinate actions to respond to challenges that directly affect inclusive and sustainable growth; and called for accelerated implementation of APEC action plans and cooperation programs in key areas such as climate change response, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable marine economic development.

On the occasion of the Conference, the Ministers presented awards to the APEC competition for ideas and good applications of green, circular, bio-economic models, in which the representative of Vietnam was honored to receive the award in the "Youth" category with the idea of recycling biological waste into environmentally friendly ink products.

On the topic of connectivity, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared key contents to ensure free, open, sustainable and inclusive trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Accordingly, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien 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; 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; actively promote the WTO reform process, especially in the field of dispute settlement mechanisms, to improve the efficiency of the organization's operations. At the Conference, Vietnam announced that it had ratified the Phase I Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, participated in the Provisional Appellate Arbitration Mechanism (MPIA), and committed to continue supporting and actively contributing to the common effort to strengthen a fair, sustainable, and inclusive multilateral trading system.

On the topic of innovation and prosperity, Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Hang proposed a number of major orientations that APEC should focus on to promote innovation and shared prosperity in the region. Specifically, building a regional cooperation framework on emerging technologies to ensure that AI and digital innovations serve people and promote inclusive growth; enhancing cooperation on labor mobility, human resource development and sharing experiences in responding to population aging; promoting digital capacity building so that all generations can adapt, contribute and enjoy the fruits of the digital economy; promoting cross-border cooperation in creative fields to unleash the full potential of people and communities; investing in creative ecosystems, supporting startups and micro, small and medium enterprises, encouraging the movement of creative experts, turning innovation and culture into strong drivers for economic growth, job creation and enhancing mutual understanding in the region. The Vietnamese delegation's speech was shared and highly appreciated by members and was reflected in the documents and Declaration of the Conference.

The 36th APEC Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting is an important activity during the APEC Summit Week 2025 to prepare for the 32nd APEC Leaders' Meeting, which will take place from October 31 to November 1.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/hoi-nghi-lien-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-kinh-te-lan-thu-36-amm-36-20251030170445933.htm