HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The third Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM 3) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) concluded here Wednesday with APEC members determined to bring practical interests to their economies and people.
Addressing a press conference after SOM 3 wrapped up, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, APEC 2017 SOM chair, said that APEC members affirmed their determination to bring pragmatic and specific interests to each economy, community and business circle.
Delegates to SOM 3 focused their discussions on inclusive growth, including on Vietnam's initiatives to organize the Symposium on Promoting Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion in APEC.
SOM 3 approved three important documents, including the Framework on Cross-border E-commerce Facilitation, the Best Practices on Promoting Supporting Industries in Asia-Pacific Region, and the Monitoring Framework on the Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan, he said.
SOM 3 also touched upon preparations for the APEC Leaders' Week scheduled for November in central Da Nang city, and upcoming APEC ministerial meetings.
During SOM 3 and nearly 80 related meetings, representatives of APEC economies also showed determination in speeding up regional trade liberalization and investment through the implementation of Bogor Goals by 2020, and discussed ways of preparing for the post-2020 APEC Vision.
The related meetings covered various issues, including human resources development, small and medium-sized enterprise assistance, anti-corruption, and natural disaster response.
SOM 3 and related meetings, which lasted for 13 days in southern Vietnam, were attended by some 3,000 delegates, including ministers, deputy ministers of APEC economies, and representatives from APEC observers, international organizations and businesses.
