Representatives from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies gathered in Hanoi on May 11 for the 10th APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI-10) Meeting.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Tran Quoc Khanh expressed his hope that the event will promote new proposals under the PPSTI’s theme in 2017, focusing on natural hazards science and policies that support strong STI ecosystems in the APEC region, PPSTI Strategic Project Prioritisation, three Sub-group’s updates on key projects as well as identification of topics and events for Knowledge Partners to engage in.

The meeting also aims to enhance PPSTI’s role in APEC by a number of vibrant activities such as Innovation Policy Sharing Seminar, Joint Session with the Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) on STI human resources development, APEC Research and Technology Programme (ART 2017), and Women in STEM Workshop, he said. 

Those will further contribute to the PPSTI’s mandate, especially in developing and promoting policies that support an enabling environment for scientific research and market-based innovation, and facilitate STI capacity building and regional STI connectivity, he added.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency reporters, Nina Azrah Razali, head of the Bureau of International Affairs of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, said that APEC member economies have a lot of STI initiatives but each of them is doing separately.

Therefore, this meeting discusses how to boost APEC members’ cooperation in implementing the initiatives, she said.

Emphasising the important role of science, technology and innovation, Razali emphasised the need to set up working groups and partnerships for STI development.