Print article

Southeast Asian APEC countries meets the US on the sidelines of the 14TH APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting

VNGOVNet - A meeting between the leaders of the Southeast Asian APEC countries and the United States of America was held on the sidelines of the 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in the morning of November 18 at the Hanoi International Convention Center. The meeting was attended by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Gen. Surayud Chulanont, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, Nguyễn Minh Triết, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and George W. Bush, President of the United States of America.

November 18, 2006 9:15 PM GMT+7


Photo: VNGOVNet

In an open, candid and constructive manner, the leaders exchanged views on international and regional political, security and economic issues of common interest including APEC, WTO, energy security, non-traditional security challenges such as disaster management, infectious diseases, terrorism and trans-national crime. They welcomed the announcement that the United States would provide countries in the region with practical assistance, especially in information and experience sharing, regional and national capacity building in order to effectively address those challenges.

In recent years, significant developments have been recorded in the relations between the countries in the region and the United States, at both bilateral and multilateral levels. In the future priority will be given to promoting economic and trade cooperation, creating stronger economic ties between the two sides, and encouraging greater involvement of the private sector and businesses, so as to better adapt to increased economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

The US President reiterated his support for the role of the Southeast Asian countries in dealing with matters pertaining to peace and development in the region, as well as in regional cooperation fora.

By Xuân Hồng