Prof. Dr. Tran Dai Quang

President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

Chair of the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

All preparations for the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) have been already completed and Viet Nam is ready to host this international-scale event.  In addition, all 21 leaders of the APEC economies have confirmed their attendance at the upcoming 2017 APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) in Da Nang.

Excellencies APEC Ministers and Heads of Delegation,

Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, I would like to warmly welcome SME Ministers, Heads of Delegations and distinguished guests to the 24th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM 24) and related meetings in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the most dynamic trade and economic centers of Viet Nam.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) meeting took place in Ho Chi Minh City on 13 September within the framework of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM) and Related Meetings.

APEC 2017 Start-up Forum officially opened in Ho Chi Minh City on 12 September.  The Forum was hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) within the framework of the APEC 2017 Small and Medium Enterprises’ Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM) and related activities.

The APEC SME Finance Forum was held in Ho Chi Minh City on 11 September under the theme “Leveraging Technologies to Scale up Supply Chain Finance” within the framework of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM) and Related Meetings.  

This Forum brought together APEC and Vietnamese finance and SME development policy-makers, industry practitioners and academic researchers.

The Third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3) concluded in Ho Chi Minh City on 30 August after two days of work, closing the series of SOM 3 and related meetings.  Under the chairmanship of SOM APEC 2017 Chair, H.E. Ambassador Bui Thanh Son, SOM 3 focused on discussing the issue of economic, financial and social inclusion.

The Symposium on Promoting Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion in APEC - one of the major events of SOM 3 and Related Meetings – took place on 28 August.  The symposium welcomed over 200 delegates including APEC Senior Officials, representatives from regional and international institutions, the private sector, academia and media.  Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, APEC 2017 SOM Chair, H.E. Ambassador Bui Thanh Son attended the event.

SOM 3 and Related Meetings will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from 18 to 30 August 2017.  SOM 3, the largest SOM cluster of APEC 2017, consists of 75 meetings, workshops and dialogues from APEC fora, covering cooperation in diverse areas, including: trade and investment liberization; business facilitation, digital/internet economy; economic, financial and social inclusion; finance; quality growth; SMEs; anti-corruption; health; emergency preparedness; and structural reform.

3 March 2017, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa, Viet Nam — Senior Officials from the 21 APEC member economies, the world’s largest regional economic cooperation group, have concluded their two-day meeting today, in which more than 200 delegates from 21 member economies, representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) participated.