At the press conference on the results of the 29th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh announced important results of the meeting:

Firstly, according to Deputy Prime Minister, the ministers in the meeting were determined to maintain the momentum of APEC cooperation and linkage despite the unstable situation in the world and the region. The conference discussed a number of specific measures to promote free trade and regional investment facilitation, to complete the Bogor Goals; promote quality growth; strengthen connectivity, investment and infrastructure development; structural reform; disaster risk mitigation and increase community self-reliance; attach importance to raising the capacity of international economic integration for members; welcome the efforts of the members to implement the Lima Declaration towards the formation of the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and to effectively implement the long-term plans of the Forum.

Secondly, the participants agreed that in response to the new trend of technology and globalization, and connection, APEC should create new dynamism to further contribute to the maintenance of the Asia-Pacific region as the engine of growth and global connectivity. Ministers stressed the importance of structural reform to increase productivity, support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to promote growth and employment; promote creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship; equip workers with new skills to adapt to employment in the digital age; apply science and technology to ensure food security, agricultural and rural development and respond to climate change as solutions to this goal.

Thirdly, the Ministers adopted a number of important, practical, noteworthy initiatives, including: transnational e-commerce facilitation framework; APEC Strategy on Sustainable and Innovative Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises; Action Plan on Food Security and Climate Change in 2018-2020; and Action plan on rural-urban development to enhance food security and quality growth.

The 2017 meeting also agreed on strategic documents for APEC cooperation to be presented to APEC economic leaders in the coming days. In particular, many documents were developed and adopted this year related to the practical content of cooperation such as narrowing the development gap, ensuring the inclusive development of APEC economies in economic, financial and social fields; opening up new development potential for the region through promotion of quality human resource development, educational cooperation; facilitating people, women and youth to contribute to economic development and enjoy the benefits of free trade and growth.

Fourthly, in preparation for APEC's development in the fourth decade of development and to promote the completion of the Bogor Goals by 2020, ministers also agreed on the need to continue the discussion process on the new cooperation orientations for APEC after 2020. Ministers welcomed the adoption of the document APEC Towards 2020 and the Future. This is a mark of APEC cooperation in 2017.

Nguyen Thanh