The first Senior Officials Meeting and related meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum entered the 11th day on February 28 with a range of events organised by committees and working groups as scheduled.

 Contributions from committees under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to APEC Year 2017 will help fulfill the Bogor Goals by 2020, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has said. 

Vietnam and Belarus have enjoyed sound relations in the past two decades, said President of the Vietnam-Belarus Friendship Association (VBFA) Nguyen Thai Lai.

 Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Doan Xuan Hung recently visited the German state of Bremen to promote economic links between the two countries.

 Vietnam’s hosting of APEC 2017, with the convergence of both leading and emerging economies,plays a significant role in reaffirming its dynamic socio-economic development as well as active participation in regional and international forums.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hoped that Vietnam’s trade, investment, and defence-security cooperation with the UK will be growing strongly following the visit by Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox.

 The first ever visit to Vietnam by a Japanese Emperor and Empress is a historic event of great significance to the two countries’ traditional relationship, press secretary of the Emperor Hatsuhisa Takashima told the Vietnam News Agency.

 Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia made a consular visit on February 25 to a suspect holding Vietnamese passport in the recent assassination of a citizen from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

 Senior officials of APEC economies as well as experts and scholars have discussed the possibility of establishing a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) along with its potential impacts and difficulties facing the process.

 Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan and French Minister of State for State Reform and Simplification Jean-Vicent Placé talked about cooperation in IT and e-government development in Hanoi on February 24. 

 The Government Cipher Commission of Vietnam and the Cipher Department under Cuba’s Ministry of Home Affairs  need to bolster cooperation, especially in exchange of visits, training, and scientific research. 

 The Party inspection and supervision must be conducted regularly and thoroughly, ensuring openness and democracy, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has said. 

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted separate receptions in Hanoi on February 24 for Japanese and Thai Ambassadors to Vietnam, Umeda Kunio and Manopchai Vongphakdi. 

 The first APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 1) went on in Nha Trang city on February 23 with 430 delegates participating in 11 activities of eight committees, working groups and forums.

 Delegates spoke highly of the theme and priorities set by the host Vietnam at the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group in Nha Trang city, the central province of Khanh Hoa on February 24. 

 A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport (MoT) is visiting Geneva, Switzerland, from February 20-24 at the invitation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

 Major events during APEC Viet Nam 2017

The Prime Minister’s Office has issued instructions from PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc requesting relevant agencies’ prompt coordination in verifying news stories on Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa.

 A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport (MoT) is visiting Geneva, Switzerland, from February 20-24 at the invitation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

 The Hanoi People’s Committee has recently issued its 2017 economic survey plan for the municipality, where it will study the business sector, administrative agencies, individual business units and religious bodies.