Le Cong Phung (3rd, R), deputy Vietnamese foreign minister and chair of the Concluding Senior Officials Meeting, attends the plenary session in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, Nov.13, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    HANOI, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APE) agreed here Monday to submit to APEC leaders later this week several documents, including those on bird flu, finance, enterprises and tourism prepared at ministerial meetings this year.

    Besides endorsing the Hanoi Action Plan which offers details required to implement the Busan Roadmap towards APEC Bogor goals, and a reform package, the Concluding Senior Officials Meeting agreed to propose the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting slated for Nov. 18-19 in Hanoi approve outcomes of the four ministerial meetings on bird flu, finance, small-and medium enterprises (SMEs) and tourism.

    The outcomes include "long-term strategies and concrete cooperation programs" important to the development of the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world, Le Cong Phung, deputy Vietnamese foreign minister and chair of the two-day senior officials meeting, told a press conference after the senior officials meeting.

    The ministerial meeting on avian and human flu pandemics in May in Vietnam's central Da Nang city adopted the APEC Action Plan on the prevention and response to avian and human flu pandemics, under which APEC economies have committed to beefing up cooperation with each other in five key areas.

    The areas include multi-sectoral cooperation and coordination on avian and human flu pandemics, establishing best practices and common approaches to risk communications, mitigating negative effects of avian influenza on agriculture and trade, working with the private sector to help ensure continuity of business, trade and essential services, and strengthening regional and international cooperation.

Le Cong Phung (C), Vietnamese deputy foreign minister and chair of the Concluding Senior Officials Meeting (CSOM), talks to press during the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Nov. 13, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

    Under the bird flu action plan, the member economies have agreed to take series of specific actions, including strengthening cooperation between animal and human health laboratory and surveillance networks, integrating risk communications as part of domestic and regional pandemic preparedness planning.

    The actions also include conducting assessments on the impact of avian influenza mitigation and control and the consequences for agriculture.

    At the 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in September in Hanoi, APEC economies stressed the importance of open, adequately supervised, and robust sound financial services sectors.

    The main efforts are urged to promote public finance efficiency and sustainability for stable and efficient revenue sources.

    APEC economies emphasized the importance of open, well-supervised, and systematically sound financial services.

    They re-affirmed their commitment in 2005 to international standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force to combat terrorist financing, money laundering, and other abuses of financial systems.

    The Hanoi Declaration on Strengthening SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment issued at the 13th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting in September in Hanoi outlines specific measures to improve competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region.

    The measures included enhancing capacity building for enterprises and officials in order to enable firms to take advantage of trade liberalization; undertaking domestic reforms such as enhancing the legal and regulatory framework; and implementing the rule of law, cutting down on bureaucracy, investing in infrastructure, removing gender biases, improving labor conditions and fighting corruption.

    In the Hoi An Declaration on Promoting APEC Tourism Cooperation adopted at the 4th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting in October in central Quang Nam province, member economies appreciated initiatives aimed at materializing the priorities set for APEC tourism cooperation.