Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has called on APEC to give a priority to ensuring human security to all member economies, and in particular those of developing countries.

Khiem, who is also Foreign Minister, was co-head of the Vietnamese delegation to the 19th closed-door ministerial meeting of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which took place in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 5^th.

At the meeting, he also urged APEC members to increase assistance and provide developing economies with more equipment and technology to forecast and monitor earthquakes, tsunami, typhoons and floods.

The Deputy PM also sought support from member economies for Viet Nam to host dialogue amongst the bloc, business circles and relevant international organisations to deal with contingencies in 2008.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang placed the WTO Doha round of talks at the top of the agenda when he called on APEC members to back a resumption of the talks by September. He said the draft framework prepared by chief negotiators on agriculture and non-agriculture should include different treatments for developing economies.

“Viet Nam strongly supports APEC’s initiatives on economic regional integration on the basis of practical approach, reasonable resources and the non-binding and voluntary principle set up by APEC,” said the Vietnamese economic minister.

The meeting, which was held under the chair of Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Foreign Trade Minister Warent Truss, put human security as a vital factor in establishing the stability and prosperity for the bloc.

Ministerial meeting approved a number of important initiatives on anti-terrorism.

The gathered economic heads also emphasised the need to speed up APEC work based on major agreements reached at the Ha Noi APEC Economic Leaders’ meeting in 2006. A large part of the talks was used on discussing a report on regional integration which is set to be submitted to leaders as the follow-ups of agreements reached at the APEC-14 Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Ha Noi in 2006.

The report consists of nine sets of recommendations to speed up the APEC economic integration, including a feasibility study of an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area that is being viewed as a needed APEC long-term strategy.- (VNA)