Viet Nam's integration into APEC
Ha Noi, Oct. 23 (VNA) -- Upon realising the importance of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for the development of regional economies, Viet Nam on June 15, 1996 officially applied to join the forum.
The decision to admit Viet Nam was first accepted at the fourth APEC Summit in Subic, the Philippines, on Nov. 30, 1996.
The country on April 25, 1997 has present at a guest at the APEC working groups on trade promotion, science and industrial technology, and agricultural technology cooperation.
However, it took until the Foreign and Economic Ministers' Meeting on Nov. 14, 1998, for APEC to announce its final admission of Viet Nam, Russia and Peru into the forum.
Viet Nam's accession to APEC reflected the country's consistent policy of regional and international integration, thus effectively serving the on-going process of national industrialisation and modernisation.
Since joining APEC, Viet Nam has enjoyed greater access to global economic information sources and thus been able to adjust its own economic development policies. The country has also made use of APEC economic and technical cooperation programmes to improve its management capacity and to attract foreign investment capital for its development projects and programmes.
However, Viet Nam is required to further improve its legal system and raise qualifications of officials so as to beef up its international economic cooperation.
It has actively taken part in APEC plans of action since its admission to the forum. Viet Nam's individual Plan of Action has been deemed practical in comparison to those submitted by APEC new members. The country has expanded its commitments to 11 of the total 15 domains of cooperation. It has also presented a number of proposals and initiatives at APEC conferences and forums.
Meanchile, APEC member economies have become major investment and trade partners of Viet Nam, accounting for 80 percent of its total trade and 75 percent of its foreign investment capital. They are also leading official development assistance (ODA) providers to the country.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Viet Nam.--
