The President stressed that the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was a success. After nearly 20 years as an APEC member, Vietnam was proud to once again take on the role of hosting APEC’s most important meeting of the year.

As an active, responsible member of the international community, with an open economy that is integrating deeply into the world and with a high and stable growth rate for many years, APEC Vietnam 2017 is a precious opportunity for Vietnam to contribute to the promotion of peace, cooperation and prosperity of the region. This is an opportunity for Vietnam to affirm its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralism and international integration.

"To have the summit today, in the past year, APEC ministers, senior officials, the business community and academics in the region conducted more than 240 meetings in 10 provinces and cities of Vietnam, where they discussed proposed measures to promote dialogue, cooperation and association of APEC, creating new impetus for economic growth and linkage in the region towards the best preparation for activities within the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week," the President said.

In that context, following the achievements of APEC cooperation in the past year with the unanimous consensus of the leaders of APEC economies, the Meeting adopted the Da Nang Declaration: "creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future". This is the most important outcome of the APEC Summit and APEC Vietnam 2017, the President announced.

President Tran Dai Quang said that APEC leaders discussed and agreed to the following main content:

Firstly, adopting the APEC Action Agenda on Advancing Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion to affirm the determination of member economies towards the development of an APEC community of inclusive development and self-reliance. This is an important part of the Dialogue between APEC Economic Leaders and the business community.

Secondly, in order to improve the quality of growth in competitiveness and productivity of APEC economies, the urgent need is to equip workers with the skills they need to adapt to the working environment and labor market that are being fundamentally changed by the 4th Industrial Revolution.

"Deeply aware of this, we have adopted the Human Development Framework in the Digital Age. The policy and measures outlined in the Framework address not only the common interest of the region but they are also the leverage to help Vietnam continue to effectively implement strategic breakthroughs in human resource development, especially high quality human resources," the president said.

Thirdly, in order to create new impetus for sustainable and inclusive growth, the Meeting spent considerable time discussing policy and strategic measures to develop Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises); promoting creative start-ups; and developing sustainable agriculture in response to climate change. 

Also discussed were: Strengthening food - water - energy security, rural and urban development; structural reform; capacity building; minimizing disaster risks; increasing economic empowerment for women; and developing sustainable tourism. Implementing APEC long-term cooperation frameworks in these areas will contribute to strengthening the role of the Forum as the region's leading economic cooperation mechanism and lead global efforts to achieve sustainable development, as common objectives to be achieved by 2030, set by the United Nations.

Fourthly, promoting free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific is the mission of APEC economies. In order for APEC to continue to be a driving force in linking and connecting the region, contributing to Asia-Pacific as a driver of global economic growth and linkages, the Meeting reaffirmed its commitment to fulfill the Bogor Goals on Trade and Investment Liberalization; promote the facilitation of investment, business and services; strengthen economic and technical cooperation; and continue efforts towards the formation of the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). The role of APEC in supporting a multilateral trading system based on free, open, fair, transparent and inclusive cooperation was also discussed.

The Meeting also welcomed the adoption of the APEC Framework on Cross-border E-commerce Facilitation and the APEC Experience Series on Facilitating Supporting Industries, to facilitate APEC's effective exploitation of the development potential of the internet, digital economy and supply chains, and global value chains.

Fifthly, APEC is working harder than ever to complete the Bogor Goals by 2020 and prepare itself for the fourth decade of development. To enhance APEC's role and position in the multilayered international environment, APEC Economic Leaders welcome the establishment of the APEC Vision Group to assist senior officials in identifying directions and the future of the Forum after 2020.

It is a self-reliant forum capable of handling global challenges as well as having high adaptability to a rapidly changing world. This decision also represents the determination of member economies towards a peaceful, stable, dynamic, connected and prosperous Asia-Pacific community in which people and businesses are centrally located.

The President stressed that in order to promote APEC's role as a mechanism for initiating and coordinating regional integration and linkage, on this occasion, Vietnam organized the first Informal Dialogue between APEC and ASEAN on the theme of "Creating New Dynamism for a Comprehensively Connected Asia-Pacific," with the participation of APEC leaders and 10 ASEAN leaders. 

“Vietnamese people in general, and Da Nang city and Quang Nam province in particular welcomed more than 10,000 APEC delegates, leaders of regional and world leading corporations, and representatives of international organizations to attend the summit week.

“For the press alone, nearly 3,000 correspondents representing Vietnamese and international media agencies were in Da Nang. Your presence is a testament to the importance of APEC and the importance of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week,” he said. 

“I sincerely thank your precious sentiment, companionship and endorsement for Vietnam as the host of APEC throughout the year. The success of the APEC Vietnam 2017 as well as the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week has your very important contribution. I believe that, together with the participation in APEC activities, you have had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of a changing, dynamic, integrated and developed Vietnam, friendly and hospitable Vietnamese, and modern and civilized Da Nang city," the President said.

The President praised all officials, employees of ministries, departments, central agencies, Da Nang city, Quang Nam province and related localities, people from all walks of life, volunteers who provided support, assistance, and those who worked hard to ensure the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week.

Cao Thai – Thai An – Le Anh Dung