Vietnam hosts APEC conference on development

The conference "APEC in the 21st century Asia-Pacific" kicked off in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on Friday, jointly organized by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the UNDP Vietnam. This is the most important meeting of the APEC forum hosted by Vietnam in 2013, which coincides with the country's 15th year of APEC membership, according to organizers. Vietnam's policies are helping to foster multi-level economic connectivity in the Asia-Pacific as well as the building of an ASEAN Community and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, said Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh when opening the conference. After the global financial crisis, the economic-political panorama in Asia-Pacific and the world as a whole has changed dramatically, so the conference is taking place at an important time for APEC as well as the region, said the Vietnamese deputy PM. He also affirmed that APEC members are sharing interests and responsibilities in supporting member economies to recover, maintaining the region's key position in the global economy as well as peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region. Within the framework of the conference, Vietnamese foreign ministry officials received Tan Jian, head of China's APEC Senior Official Meeting, to exchange views on collaboration in organizing APEC Year 2014 in China.