The 13th APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies' Meeting concluded Wednesday in Hanoi, agreeing on the need of creating an efficient revenue system, and a healthier financial sector.

Delegates from members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed to report to finance ministers on the importance of a stable and efficient revenue system, and the need of exchanging experience and best practices of reforms of this area among members, Vietnamese deputy finance minister Tran Xuan Ha made closing remarks at the two-day meeting.

The delegates also stressed "the importance of having a sound financial sector and a good system of supervision and oversight in the context of financial liberalization so that we can attract, on the one hand, capital inflows and mitigate the risks inherent to the flows, on the other," he said.

The finance and central bank deputies agreed to submit to the ministers a new initiative proposed by South Korea, Policy Response to Aging Issue, after reviewing the implementation of initiatives on nine areas of finance cooperation within the APEC.

They also reviewed the APEC Finance Ministers' Process (FMP), endorsed some recommendations to rationalize the progress, and agreed that they would report to the ministers for their endorsement of strategic goals and the mid-term work plan to enhance the process's effective.

The FMP provides an annual forum for APEC member economies to exchange views and information on regional financial developments and to pursue cooperative programs that promote financial sector development and liberalization.

The 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will open Thursday with the two main themes: "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources," and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows."

At the two-day event, the ministers and representatives from such entities as international financial institutions and the APEC Secretariat are to touch upon the two themes above, and to discuss global and regional macro-economic and financial challenges, policy tools, APEC cooperation arrangements for macroeconomic stabilization. They are also scheduled to discuss tools and mechanisms necessary to combat terrorism financing and money laundering.

APEC has 21 member economies, including China, the United States, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and Australia, which account for more than a third of the world's population, over 50 percent of world GDP and in excess of 41 percent of world trade.

Source: Xinhua