Sydney (VNA) – Viet Nam appreciates and supports anti-corruption agreements by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem of Viet Nam.
Addressing the 19 th APEC Ministerial meeting, Deputy PM Khiem analysed that corruption fighting has always been topping the working agenda of the Vietnamese government and that Viet Nam wishes to expand cooperation with other APEC member economies in information and experience sharing and legal assistance in the fight against this social evil.
The 19 th APEC ministerial meeting was held on September 6 in Sydney, Australia under the co-chairmanship of Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer and Minister for Trade Warrent Truss.
APEC ministers at the meeting endorsed anti-corruption cooperation documents, such as a model Code of Conduct for Business and Code of Conduct Principles for Public Officials. Viet Nam, together with Chile and Australia, has agreed to pilot the Code of Conduct for Business in their small and medium enterprise sectors.
In terms of economic cooperation, APEC ministers ratified three model agreements on e-commerce, rules of origin and hygienic quarantine, which will be used as consultation reference for APEC members when negotiating for regional trade agreements (RTA) and free trade agreements (FTA).
APEC ministers also approved the APEC 2 nd trade facilitation action plan (TFAP) that aims to achieve a five-percent reduction in trade transaction cost within APEC members by 2010, other initiatives on enforcement of intellectual property rights and also agreed on building an action plan to facilitate investment within member economies.- Enditem |