The 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, a long awaited event of the APEC Year 2006, opened in Hanoi on November 18. Among issues to be discussed and approved at the meeting, the Hanoi Action Plan is expected to chart a new course of development for APEC member economies and businesses in the coming years.

Party leader Nong Duc Manh, State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received and held talks with Brunei's Sultan, RoK President, Australian Prime Minister, New Zealand Prime Minister, Canadian Prime Minister in Hanoi on November 17.

The 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) and APEC related-activities have attracted the attention of the Vietnamese people and countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as politicians in France and over European countries. At the opening of an exhibition on Vietnam in the Chevilly-Larue city in the south of Paris, France recently, Mayor of the city, Christian Hervy, granted an exclusive interview with VOV reporter on the great event.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has called on businesses from the Asia-Pacific region to come and invest in Vietnam - a dynamic, peaceful and open country and a potential destination for all to do business.

Vietnam has made special efforts to ensure the success of the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting - the biggest event it has ever hosted, China Radio International said on November 15.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem announced the successful results of the meeting at a press briefing in Hanoi on November 16. He said APEC ministers focused their discussion on the resumption of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, APEC structural reform, anti-corruption, disaster preparedness and the fight against bird flu.

The 4th APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) concluded its meeting on November 16 after two days’ sitting. In 2007, ABAC will continue to give priority to small-and medium-sized enterprises.

Cooperation among APEC member economies has showed encouraging developments in both content and scale. Cooperation programmes have been well implemented, which reflects the importance of APEC to the economy of the region and each member, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem.

Vietnam considers foreign businesses as an indispensable part of the Vietnamese economy. The Vietnamese government and local administrations are willing and ready to help investors do business in the country, says Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

APEC plays an important role in Vietnam’s economic development as it makes up 70 percent of the country’s exports and 73 percent of total foreign direct investment, says Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Nearly 40 foreign ministers from APEC member economies attended a closed-door session of the 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Hanoi on November 15 to discuss practical measures to strengthen the multilateral trade system including resuming the Doha talks.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet welcomed delegates to the fourth APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Hanoi on November 14 and urged them to make further contributions to building APEC into a dynamic community for sustainable development and prosperity.

The Doha round, the Hanoi Action Plan on the Busan Roadmap to Achieve the Bogor Goals, APEC reform package and decisive policies to make APEC more dynamic are important issues which were considered by APEC senior officials for approval, says Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister and Chair of Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Le Cong Phung.

Since its inception in November 1995, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has participated in all APEC meetings to enhance its role in the grouping, president of ABAC 2006 Hoang Van Dung told VOVNews in a recent interview prior to the ABAC Conference in Hanoi this week.

The current Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting (CSOM) began a plenary session on November 13 with a focus on trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, economic and technical cooperation, human security and other important issues.

Currently, 16 out of 21 APEC member economies are investing in 5,681 valid projects with a total registered capital of more than US$41.7 billion, accounting for 73 percent of total foreign investments in Vietnam.

Senior officials of member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) convened the Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM) at the National Conference Centre in Hanoi on November 12. This activity is a start of a host of events to take place during the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Week from November 12-19.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, has launched a week-long campaign of wearing ao dai (traditional long dress of Vietnamese women) among the union's women members to welcome the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

It is undeniable that many APEC member economies have become Vietnam’s leading partners in terms of trade, investment and ODA funding. They have been and will be Vietnam’s important partners, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet at a recent interview granted to media workers prior to the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

The International Media Centre (IMC) of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) officially opened in Hanoi on November 10. As many as 2,000 local and foreign correspondents will gather there next week to cover APEC activities.

All preparations, from contents to logistic and security plans, for the forthcoming Economic Leaders' Week have been completed, said Deputy Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung, the 2006 Chair of the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting at a press conference on November 9 in Hanoi.

All preparations for the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting have been complete and organising the event successfully is top priority for Vietnam, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

The APEC Investment Forum 2006 (AIF) will take place in Hanoi on November 15-16, drawing more than 600 representatives from APEC member economies, said Phan Huu Thang, director of the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment on November 6.

Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have invested in 5,681 projects with a combined capital of more than US$41.7 billion in Vietnam, making up over 73 percent of the nation's foreign direct investment (FDI).

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked relevant ministries and agencies to continue making detailed plans to ensure absolute safety for activities under the APEC framework, particularly social order and security at the National Conference Centre where the main activities of the conference will take place.

More than 5,000 Hanoians and 1,000 delegates representing foreign embassies and friendship organisations in Vietnam attended a Cultural Festival for Peace in Hanoi on November 5 to welcome the upcoming 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and Vietnam’s WTO accession.

Many heads of state will pay their official visits to Vietnam during the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Among them will be Chinese Communist Party leader and President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President George W. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

More than 1,000 volunteers who have registered to serve the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting are all excellent students having a command of foreign languages. They will actively contribute to the success of the APEC meeting because they serve as a bridge between guests and hosts.

APEC plays an important role in developing Vietnam’s tourism market as more than three fourths of foreign visitors coming to Vietnam annually are from APEC member economies. Initiatives put forward by Vietnam at the recent APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in central Hoi An town are expected to open new prospects for the tourism sector.

Vietnam is ready for the APEC 2006 Week, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who is also chairman of the National APEC Committee, at a dress rehearsal of Gala Dinner in Hanoi on October 26.