Vietnam inaugurated here Friday an international media center slated for the approaching Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which is expected to draw attendance of some 10,000 people, including heads of states in the region.

The 4,000-square meter center is the biggest of its kind in Vietnam, and may be the biggest in Southeast Asia, with 215 Internet-enabled desktop computers and other office equipment in the main room to accommodate 400 people, Le Dung, spokesman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the center's director said at the inauguration ceremony.

The media center also has a 100-seat room, and private working areas for news agencies, and offers such services as provision of visual and audio signals, photos, and communications.

The media center is part of the International Convention Center, in which main events of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting Week, including the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the 18th Joint Ministerial Meeting, the Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting and the Chief Executive Officers' Summit, will take place from Nov. 12- 19.

The convention center has a 3,800-seat main meeting room, four car-parks with combined capacity of nearly 1,000 vehicles, a landing field for helicopters, and an anti-earthquake system, and a well-equipped media center.

Some 1,500 foreign reporters and over 500 local ones have registered to cover the events, Dung said.

From Nov. 18-19, APEC leaders will center their discussions on two topics: trade and investment promotion in a changing world, and fundamentals ensuring dynamism, growth and sustainable development in APEC, the ministry announced recently.

On the occasion of the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, leaders of five APEC member economies, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, U.S. President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria, will pay official visits to Vietnam.

APEC, established in 1989 for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, has 21 members, which account for more than one third of the world's population, nearly 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product, and about 47 percent of the world trade.

Source: Xinhua