President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will attend a virtual informal meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on July 16 at the invitation of APEC 2021 chair - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will attend a virtual informal meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on July 16 at the invitation of APEC 2021 chair - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

In 1998, Vietnam officially joined APEC - the leading economic cooperation mechanism in Asia-Pacific, which was a crucial step forward in implementing Vietnam’s foreign policy of openness, multilateralisation, diversification and international economic integration.

Over the last 22 years, Vietnam has made active contributions to the forum, helping promote peace, stability, cooperation and economic connectivity in the region.

It is noteworthy that the country successfully hosted APEC Economic Leaders' meetings in 2006 and 2017.

It was also one of the most active members in proposing initiatives and projects in many fields.

Vietnam made significant contributions when it served as Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat in 2005 – 2006, and as chair and vice chair of many committees and key working groups.

Vietnamese businesses have also demonstrated their increasingly important role within APEC cooperation. During the 2017 APEC Year, Vietnamese enterprises contributed wisdom and efforts, and directly participated in many activities, affirming their integration capacity, role and responsibility for the APEC cooperation mechanism as well as regional economic connectivity.

After successfully hosting the APEC 2017 Economic Leaders' Meeting, Vietnam has continued to actively participate in and contribute to the APEC cooperation framework.

Amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam has closely coordinated with other APEC economies in maintaining cooperation mechanisms and promoting the building of long-term cooperation strategies of the forum.

With the theme “Join, Work, Grow. Together”, APEC 2021 will focus on COVID-19 and measures to cope with its negative impact on the economies. New Zealand – host of the 2021 APEC Year - said that all APEC activities in 2021 will take place virtually.

The informal meeting of APEC leaders on July 16 is hoped to seek immediate steps to address the COVID-19 crisis, and accelerating post-pandemic economic recovery in Asia Pacific.

President Phuc’s attendance at the event will help strongly affirm Vietnam's role and voice in APEC.

VNA