Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA)

Opening the meeting, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, who is APEC 2017 SOM Chair, said the outlook for the Asia-Pacific remains the strongest in the world, with momentum picking up, as showed in the latest IMF World Economic Outlook. However, the report also pointed out that near-term outlook is clouded with significant uncertainties and challenges, which call for individual economy actions to be supported by multilateral cooperation, as well as policies to support growth while boosting structural reforms, resilience and inclusiveness. During the meeting, the APEC senior officials will discuss policies and ways to boost APEC cooperation in trade and investment liberalization, human resource development, inclusive growth, urbanization, e-commerce, education, facilitation of global supply chains, science, technology and innovation.