An international symposium on the preparations for APEC Vietnam 2006 opened in Hanoi on July 21 with the participation of more than 150 Vietnamese and foreign representatives.

In his opening speech, Deputy PM Khoan said: "To APEC as a whole, the year 2006 is the milestone for its development process in three main areas: first, it marks the completion of the first phase of APEC towards the Bogor Goal; second, it may witness the introduction of possible policies and orientations for the next phase; and thirdly, it marks the possible fulfilment of the APEC goals to reduce obstacles and promote trade facilitation by reducing transaction costs by five percent. To Vietnam domestically, 2006 is the year of the 10th Party Congress from which the coming five-year development policy and orientation for Vietnam in all aspects will originate.

"Since the introduction of the renovation and open-door policy along with the integration policy over the past 20 years, Vietnam has become an active member of international and regional co-operative groups and currently is in the final stage of negotiations for WTO accession.

"We will keep on striving to solve the challenges facing APEC and make better changes for our community. We will also commit to what has been pursued by APEC's previous host economies, specifically the three major frames. First, we will work towards the completion of the Bogor Goals of which trade and investment liberalisation, facilitation, and APEC Economic and Technical Co-operation (ECOTECH) are the three pillars. Second, we will work towards setting up and securing a sustainable and safe business environment covering health security, natural disaster response and prevention, energy security, anti-corruption, IT, IPR, etc. Third, we will work towards the prospect of one economic community in the Asia-Pacific region."

The symposium will discuss the theme and priorities for APEC Vietnam 2006, assess APEC development over the past decade, and analyse the new global situation and its impacts on the group. Participants will also define the immediate and strategic interests of APEC for the new era. In 2006, in addition to the 14th meeting of economic leaders from APEC member countries and the 18th meeting of foreign and economic ministers, Vietnam will host four meetings between senior officials and a series of meetings between ministers and working groups.