ABAC towards Common Goal of the Community

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has created a special dialogue mechanism under the framework of the APEC. ABAC over the past year has put forward many practical suggestions to help build up a sustainable cooperation mechanism and assist enterprises in business development.

 

According to Pham Gia Tuc, VCCI Vice President and Secretary General, in the context of serious regional crisis in 2008, i.e. businesses were incurring consequences of the financial crisis, efforts of narrowing development gap among economies and within each economy were threatened; and Doha talk round was stagnated, ABAC called APEC's leaders to respond to the crisis by taking emergency measures to help member countries recover and grow quickly. ABAC also requested APEC to develop new policies to build faith and avoid protective responses. To cope with the global financial crisis, ABAC suggested the APEC's leaders have financial solutions to stimulate demand via increasing expenditure and investment in public works and tax incentives; continuing to take measures to assure flexible adjustment of the financial market; encouraging trade liberalisation in the world and region. In particular, the APEC's leaders should address problems incurred by small and medium-sized enterprises, maintain and boost job generation and stability in the SME sector.

 

During the process of pushing up regional economic integration, ABAC called upon the APEC's leaders to support proposals in G20 Declaration to conduct financial reforms. G20 committed to head for a global open economy, appropriate to the APEC's policy. Therefore, leaders should continue to make progress in reaching mutually-beneficial agreements in Doha talk round. Meanwhile the Doha agenda is stagnant, APEC should focus on reinforcing and boosting inter-Pacific integration. ABAC reaffirmed the viewpoint that the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) could produce real-world solutions to unite Regional Trade Agreements and Free Trade Agreements (RTA/FTA), accelerating regional liberalisation and reaching Bogor Goals.

 

As for development of the SME sector, ABAC suggested leaders continue concentration on this sector through special assistance activities on technological infrastructure, financial capacity and training.

 

Mr Tuc said that in 2009, ABAC would focus its activities under the topic "Building Towards the Bogor Goals with one Community”, including three contents. First is to boost regional economic integration, considering the FTAAP as the instrument to attain the Bogor Goals, creating favourable business environment, speeding up circulation of goods, capital and labour.

 

Second is to build a model of sustainable development. ABAC recommends governments to design a clear framework to protect the environment, liberalise commerce and service, intensify energy security and efficiency of energy usage, introduce about cities of sustainable development, consider and develop the APEC food programme.

 

Third, ABAC suggested governments build programmes of supporting capability development, improve the connection and open the market to assist the SMEs in the process of internationalisation and integration.

 

“Vietnam has been an APEC member for 10 years. This membership has opened up new opportunities for enterprises, requiring dynamics in learning and exploring the new markets and skillfulness in using APEC's supportive mechanism. Like other APEC's members, Vietnamese enterprises benefit from cooperation programmes of training and capability improvement in business administration, trade negotiations, export and import skills”, said Mr Tuc.

 

VCCI and ABAC's Vietnamese members over the past time held studies and assisted the SMEs in access to source of funds, training courses in defining business credit rating (especially for SMEs) to help them get better approach to loans and electronic customs declaration. At present, governmental bodies and Vietnam's enterprises are participating in trade security programmes to enhance ability of responding to disasters, epidemics and improve social responsibility

 

The VCCI assessed that ABAC's member in particular and APEC's enterprises in general still cared about Vietnam though the global and regional economies were facing many difficulties. Before the recent ABAC meeting in Lima, U.S ABAC had arranged a delegation of important investors and financial institutions to visit Vietnam to learn about investment opportunities. ABAC also officially recommended Vietnam to host the third ABAC Meeting 2009 in August in Hochiminh City. ABAC agreed to nominate Hoang Van Dung, President of ABAC Vietnam, to the position of Co-President responsible for trade liberalisation. This fact somehow showed Vietnam's prestige in the region as well as the confidence of APEC's business community in the Vietnam economy and cooperation opportunities.