Da Nang (VNA) – Asian-Pacificeconomies should establish an agenda with strategies on what they can dotogether to help the region continue to be the main driver in realising the BogorGoals in terms of trade and investment, said a senior official from Papua NewGuinea.

Ivan Pomaleu told the VietnamNews Agency on the sidelines of the APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting(CSOM) in the central city of Da Nang on November 6 that this week, APEC seniorofficials are looking for a number of initiatives to be submitted to theministers and leaders and reviewing what they have done to boost the achievementof the Bogor Goals by 2020 and beyond.

“I see a lot of good works Vietnam has actually done and so we are keen towatch how it does missions with the Bogor Goals 2020”, he said.

Obviously, this November 6-7 meeting aims to review what Vietnam has done overthe last 12 months and make final reports to be sent to the ministers at theAPEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on important issues related to trade,sustainable development, among others, according to Ivan Pomaleu.

“Our ministers will bestrongly supporting mechanisms focusing on the post-2020 Agenda and we shouldsee how to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to connect withthe global market,” he said.

He also praised Vietnam’s hostingof APEC 2017, especially its preparations for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week. “Ican say that Vietnam has done a fantastic job when hosting APEC 2017”, hestressed.

Actually, Vietnam has done well in terms of preparation for APEC 2017, although there aremany challenges in how consensuses and compromises can be fostered to identifyAPEC concepts on such areas as trade, investment, globalisation and how tosustain a free trade area for APEC, he said.

“It is very important for ourcountry to learn experience from Vietnam in hosting meetings for next year,” headded.

Meanwhile, Che Mafni Che Wook,a senior official from Malaysia, said all initiatives proposed by Vietnam forthis year are important, especially the framework on human resources developmentin the digital age.

“Not only Vietnam boosts business and human resources in this area but thewhole of APEC because we need to prepare human resources in terms of digitalisationand see how we could support human resources development, especially inmanufacturing,” she said.

She noted that APEC is alsofocusing on economic inclusion as well. “We now have the initiative ontransformation with involvement of youth. We take into account the ideas ofyouth in order to chart the future of the APEC economy. Vietnam has put theproposal on the table and it is good for APEC as a whole”.

In this meeting, Vietnam islooking to have four initiatives in the agenda. They are human resourcesdevelopment in the digital age, inclusive growth, e-commerce facilitation andfood security, she noted.

A representative from ​Chinese Taipei appreciated Vietnam’s initiative on financial,economic and social inclusion. “I think it is a good initiative because APEC islike a family, taking care of all people in the region,” he said.

Inclusion is very important and all APEC members should pursue it to have equalaccess for all people, he added.

The APEC Economic Leaders’Week is taking place in Da Nang onNovember 6-11, drawing about 10,000 delegates from the 21 member economies.

Establishedin 1989, APEC comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong(China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, NewZealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, ​Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

Itrepresents 39 percent of the world population, 57 percent of the world GDP and49 percent of ​international trade.-VNA