Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an organization that has 21 member economies: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States and Viet Nam.
Viet Nam joined APEC in November 1998. APEC works in three broad areas to meet the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.
Known as APEC's 'Three Pillars', APEC focuses on three key areas:
- Trade and Investment Liberalization
- Business Facilitation
- Economic and Technical Cooperation
The outcomes of these three areas enable APEC Member Economies to strengthen their economies by pooling resources within the region and achieving efficiencies. Tangible benefits are also delivered to consumers in the APEC region through increased training and employment opportunities, greater choices in the marketplace, cheaper goods and services and improved access to international markets.
Every year, APEC is hosted by one of its member economies. In 2006, as the host economy of APEC for the year, Viet Nam organized the 13th SME Ministerial Meeting on 28-29 September, the 23rd SME Working Group Meeting on 26-27 September and the 7th Micro Enterprise Sub-Group Meeting on 25 September in Hanoi.
In preparation for these meetings, Viet Nam had proposed a number of measures for the consideration of the 21 Member Economies of APEC on:
APEC SME Ministers, hosted by H.E. Mr. Vo Hong Phuc, Minister for Planning and Investment, in Hanoi on 28-29 September 2006, issued the Hanoi Declaration on Strengthening SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment and the 13th Joint Ministerial Statement.