H.E. Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the S.R. of Vietnam addressed at the opening ceremony

International Convention Cemter at Furama Resort, Da Nang

The ABAC third meeting for 2009 was held in Da Nang, Vietnam on August 24, and H.E. Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the S.R. of Vietnam attended and delivered a warm speech at the opening ceremony. He gave a high praise and full affirmation for both the role of APEC and ABAC, and welcomed all APEC member economies to invest in Vietnam in order to enhance cooperation. 

In the opening plenary, ABAC Chair Mr. Teng Theng Dar briefly introduced two important documents including the draft Letter to Leaders and ABAC 2009 Report for approval. In the Letter, ABAC calls on APEC leaders to undertake the following forceful actions, include resist protectionism unequivocally, achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in a deliberate manner within a firm timetable, lead a way to a successful conclusion to the WTO’s Doha Round by the end of 2010 and so on.

ABAC Japan Mr.Yoshihiro Watanabe delivered a speech on the current economic outlook. The main points include: 1. Has the global recession hit bottom? 2. Are financial markets stabilizing? 3. Assessment of fiscal and monetary policies and ecit strategies 4. How to rebalance economic growth? He analyzed the above-mentioned points separately and put forward his views on this issue. In addition, Ms. Linda Carroll from APEC Secretariat pointed out in her speech: We should not only strengthen communication inside APEC, but also should promote exchanges outside APEC. She also reviewed APEC brand strategy in order to highlight the importance of the promotion of APEC.

In the next two days, five ABAC Working Groups consisting of Financial & Economics Working Group (FEWG) , Capacity Building & Action Plan Working Group (CBAPWG), Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG), Facilitation Working Group (FWG) and Liberalization Working Group(LWG) will deliver a report on their work arrangements and the progress of their work respectively. China APEC Development Council will make communication with APEC Secretariat on the proposal "Develop Promotion of ABTC and Business Facilitation Services” after attending Facilitation Working Group Meeting.

Reported by China APEC Development Council