APEC seeks ways of promoting small- and medium-sized enterprises

Delegates from the Asia-Pacific region are attending the 13th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting and related ones in Hanoi on Sept. 25-29 to facilitate development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The ministerial meeting, slated for Sept. 28-29, with the theme "Strengthening SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment," will center on business enabling environment for SME, SME capacity building for trade and investment and facilitating linkages for SME.

A series of SME-related events also started Monday with the 7th APEC Micro Enterprises Sub Group Meeting, during which delegates from member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) are to focus discussions on measures to build micro enterprise capacity for market integration, including those on creating business-enabling environment, facilitating micro enterprises to resources, and enhancing business opportunities for them.

"We all appreciate the role of micro enterprises as the engine for job creation and poverty reduction, especially as the contribution to trade and services in APEC economies is increasing, " Nguyen Van Trung, director general of the Agency for SME Development under Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment, said at the one-day micro enterprise meeting.

Since its inception in 1989, the 21-member APEC, which gathers some of the world's largest economies, including the United States, Russia, Japan, China and Singapore, has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, create efficient domestic economies and dramatically increase exports.

Source: Xinhua