The 13^th Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Finance Ministerial Meeting opened in Hanoi on September 7.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasised that it is very relevant for the APEC to discuss the two policy themes of "Promoting public finance efficiency and sustainability: towards stable and efficient revenue sources" and "Financial sector reform to attract capital flows" at the meeting.

PM Dung said: "The Vietnamese government puts a high priority on macroeconomic and public finance stability, and on that basis, promoting the roles of the private sector and development of the financial sector."

"In the coming years, Vietnam continues our objectives of high and sustainable economic growth on the basis of promoting industrialisation, modernisation, building up market institutions, promoting science and technology, training and education, and developing a knowledge-based economy while ensuring social equity," Dung added.

To achieve the objectives, PM Dung said that enhanced international economic co-operation with regional economies and the international community is of utmost importance.

"Vietnam is ready to be a friend and credible partner of every economy in the world, to integrate into the world and regional economy, with strong commitment to early WTO membership," he added.

During the two-day meeting, the ministers will discuss measures to promote public finance efficiency and sustainability and reform the financial sector to attract capital flows.

At the plenary meeting, which will also be attended by representatives of international financial institutions and the APEC Secretariat, the delegates are scheduled to share their views on the global and regional macroeconomic financial challenges, and discuss policy tools and regional co-operation mechanisms towards macroeconomic stability in the region.

They will also talk about specific reforms to attract international capital inflows and minimize risks so as to build a sound and effective financial service.

During the FMM-13, Vietnamese Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh and Vietnamese finance officials on September 7 held talks with delegations from Canada, Thailand, China, Russia, the US, Japan and Australia. They plan to meet with representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) on September 8.

The meeting is expected to issue a joint ministerial statement on September 8. (VNA)