As many as 18 APEC members are the key partners in bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) to which Viet Nam is a signatory.

APEC members account for 78% of foreign direct investment (FDI), 75% of trade in goods, 38% of official development assistance (ODA), and 79% of Viet Nam’s international tourist arrivals. Approximately 80% of overseas Vietnamese students are studying in APEC member economies.

Therefore, the APEC Year 2017 is an important lynchpin of Viet Nam’s diplomacy and the most significant contribution of our country to APEC cooperation in the period of extensive and intensive international integration.

Together with assuming the role of ASEAN Chair in 2020, running for the United Nations Security Council 2020-2021 and fulfilling the WTO accession commitments by 2018, the successful APEC Viet Nam 2017 will contribute to the consistent realization of the very important policy of the 12^thNational Party Congress "to improve the quality and effectiveness of multilateral diplomacy and proactively contribute to the building and shaping of multilateral mechanisms."

The successes of APEC Year 2006 and the prestige gained through her high responsibility in various international organizations have brought Viet Nam to APEC Year 2017 spotlight with a new stature./.