The 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings (FMM) will take place in the ancient city of Hoi An, the central province of Quang Nam, from October 19-21, under the chair of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting is the most important event under the APEC Finance Ministers' Process. (Credit: apec2017.vn) 

The information was announced by Vu Nhu Thang, Head of the International Cooperation Department under the MOF at a press brief in Hanoi on October 9.

The 24th APEC FMM will welcome about 300 international and domestic participants, including finance ministers, financial officials and senior members of international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

At the summit, APEC finance ministers will discuss global and regional macroeconomic and financial developments, while reviewing financial cooperation process on priority topics through the year and updating the situation on the implementation of the Cebu Action Plan, as well as other issues of concern.

In addition, APEC ministers will hold a dialogue session with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and senior leaders from a number of large enterprises in the region. On the sidelines of the conference, the ministers will have a closed-door meeting to discuss issues of concern separately.

The 2017 APEC FMM is the most important event under the APEC Finance Ministers' Process, which was established by APEC leaders at their first meeting in 1993 to consult on broad economic issues and address some of the economic challenges facing the region.

Prior to the APEC FMM, the APEC Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting and APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting will be held on October 19 and 20 to prepare the content and compile documents to report to the ministers at the FMM.

* Also on Monday, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) announced its plan to host business events during the APEC Leaders’ Week in Da Nang from November 6-11.

Accordingly, the Vietnam Business Summit (VBS) will be held for the first time with the hope that activities of the business community will help double the value added to Vietnam during the high-level week, through trade and investment promotion events, said VCCI Chairman Nguyen Tien Loc.

In the coming week, in addition to the usual events, there will be events organised on the initiative of Vietnam. Specifically, the two usual events will include the ABAC’s meeting and the APEC CEO Summit, which discuss global economic issues, cooperation, integration and reform.

The VBS will be organised on Vietnam’s initiative, in conjunction with investment promotion exhibitions held by 63 provinces and cities across the country. This is the first VBS to be held and it is expected to be organised annually, according to Loc.

Under the theme “Vietnam: We Mean Business!”, the VBS is slated for November 7, offering an opportunity for foreign investors to find out about economic development policies, along with the investment and cooperation potentials in Vietnam. For domestic and foreign enterprises, the event is also an occasion to meet, to connect and to share information regarding trade and integration trends, as well as on cooperation experience in Vietnam and Asia-Pacific.

In addition to the three conferences, sideline dialogues between businesses and APEC leaders will also be held.

Activities by APEC business will focus on two aspects: dialogue contributing to policy formulation and the connection between business and investment. Participation in policy formulation is very important, but the APEC summit is also a great opportunity for Vietnam to promote trade and investment, said the VCCI leader.

Nhan Dan