CEOs heard Australian Prime Minister John Howard's keynote address on policies to make innovation a driver of economic growth. The Australian PM and his audience agreed that invention and innovation are closely connected to economic development, success of openness and integration progress as well as business profits.

During the second session of the APEC CEO Summit 2006, First Vice President of Peru Admiral Luis Giampietri, Secretary General of UNCTAD Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, and Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council 2006 Hoang Van Dung took the floor, talking about the lessons learned from APEC economies in successfully drawing foreign direct investment (FDI).

Mr Giampietri emphasised the importance of national security in creating a favourable environment for foreign investors. Meanwhile, Mr Supachai underscored the need for cooperation among developing countries to attract FDI instead of reliance on investment from developed countries.

APEC CEOs were interested in Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's address themed "Finding common purpose in a diverse world" during the third session held in the afternoon. The Malaysian PM said human resources should be better used for the common purpose of a diverse world today.

Also at this session, the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke of the US vision for APEC in respect of shaping a single APEC community both in public and private areas. She highlighted US-Vietnam cooperation, saying the two countries had re-established diplomatic ties, resumed cooperation activities and worked together to overcome challenges and generate mutual benefits for each other.

The US Secretary expressed her hope that the US Congress will ratify the bill on PNTR status to Vietnam as soon as possible and give support to the country in the post-WTO period.

The last session of the second working day saw the introduction of the E-Manifest Project presented by the Vietnam Customs General Director Le Manh Hung as a breakthrough in applying technology to customs work by the Vietnam Customs Department. The project is part of the Vietnamese customs sector's unceasing efforts in ensuring security standards as well as creating favourable conditions for trade activities as it chaired the APEC Sub-committee on Customs Procedures in 2006 (SCCP).