(VOVWORLD) - The Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting (CSOM) wrapped up in Da Nang City on Tuesday after 2 working days.
The CSOM press briefing at the International Media Center on November 7, 2017.
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At a press conference, Bui Thanh Son, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and APEC 2017 SOM Chair, said the meeting reached final consensus on matters to be submitted to the 29th APEC Ministerial Meeting and the 25th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, scheduled in the coming days.
CSOM adopted a report on the performance of 4 APEC committees in trade and investment, economics, technology, and budget. The report reveals positive performance of the member economies in implementing the bloc’s joint action plan with outstanding achievements in human resources, support for small, medium-sized, and micro enterprises, and improvement of competitiveness in service sector.
Participants discussed efforts to keep free trade and approved a digital economic roadmap.
Deputy Minister Son said: “Trade liberalization is considered the core to APEC’s cooperation principles and a leading mechanism to boost regional links. Increasing trade protectionism has affected cooperation in the region. Trade liberalization also depends on economic development levels among APEC members. But I must say that all APEC member economies want to strengthen regional trade and investment, the driving force for them to grow.”