Within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), on October 30, 2025, in Gyeongju City, South Korea, the 36th ASEAN-Economic Ministers' Meeting (AMM 36) took place.
The conference was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo, with the participation of the Foreign Minister, Minister of Economy - Trade and Heads of Delegations from 21 APEC member economies. The Vietnamese delegation led by Central Party Committee member and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attended the Conference.
The conference focused on discussing two main topics. First, innovation and prosperity: How to exploit opportunities and promote economic growth, while addressing regional challenges to build a sustainable Asia-Pacific region.
Second is connectivity, policy priorities on enhancing self-reliance and adaptability of the supply chain, ways to leverage emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support this process. At the same time, promote trade facilitation in the APEC region; the role of WTO in the context of the changing global trade order, the way APEC - the incubator of ideas - solves common challenges.
At the conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared with APEC members a number of key contents in regional cooperation to ensure free, open, sustainable and inclusive trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Firstly, regarding digital transformation and AI, Vietnam welcomes the AI initiative in APEC proposed by Korea, emphasizing that the development and application of AI must take people as the center, ensure safety, reliability and bring common benefits to the whole society.
The minister suggested that APEC members strengthen cooperation, share experiences and provide technical assistance in building AI capacity, especially in human resource training, connecting labor supply and demand, and supporting people to access free or low-cost AI tools.
Second, regarding the connection and enhancement of supply chain resilience, the Minister affirmed the importance of diversifying supply chains and developing modern logistics infrastructure, adapting to climate change.
Vietnam is actively expanding its network of free trade agreements (FTAs), while investing in developing a strategic transportation system to enhance regional connectivity.
Vietnam proposed that APEC continue to promote investment cooperation, provide green finance and technology transfer, and support developing economies in applying digital technology and AI in supply chain management, contributing to ensuring seamless and smooth regional trade flows.
Third, regarding the multilateral trade system, the Minister highly appreciated the central role of WTO in promoting trade released, maintaining transparent rules and supporting the global supply chain to operate effectively. The Minister suggested that WTO members actively promote the reform process, especially in the field of dispute resolution mechanisms, to improve the effectiveness of the organization's operations.
The Minister informed that Vietnam has ratified the Fisheries Subsidy Agreement Phase I, joined the Provisional Interim Arbitration mechanism (MPIA) and committed to continue to support and actively contribute to the common efforts to strengthen MTS in a fair, sustainable and inclusive manner.
