> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # APEC News - 09-06-14 - URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/apec_news_-_09-06-14/ - Published: 2014-09-06T11:46:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T18:44:26.000Z - Description: At the APEC Human Resource Development Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told ministers from 21 economies that the region faces slow growth, high unemployment and skills mismatches, and urged deeper cooperation on human resources. - Author: Food Consumer - Tags: Miscellaneous, Health News, #vivvo-import [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f5/c2/f5c28c07-f2c7-440d-8161-125a09d9bc91/content/images/2026/08/3e72a3cf94aedb0313397c32acfc73f4e59741ca.jpg "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation")](http://apec.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=659cda5df05da94188f4acaae&id=6d4a7b33f8&e=c4ea7dccfa&ref=foodconsumer.org) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f5/c2/f5c28c07-f2c7-440d-8161-125a09d9bc91/content/images/2026/08/4005ecff389ac98000667c68ef3a5d65e273d6fe.jpg "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation") # **High quality employment critical to development cycle: Dung** ## Issued by the 6th Human Resource Development *Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 6 September 2014* – Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Saturday observed that globalization and liberalization generate new opportunities with diversified economic cooperation. Nonetheless, APEC economies face such challenges as slow and unstable growth; high unemployment; imbalances between highly-skilled labour supply and demand; and social conflicts. Prime Minister Dung shared these views with Ministers from APEC’s 21 member economies when he opened the APEC Human Resource Development Ministerial Meeting on Saturday in Ha Noi. Meeting under the theme, “*Promoting Quality Employment and Strengthening People-to-People Connectivity through Human Resources Development*,” he said that APEC needs to further strengthen cooperation, experience sharing, especially in human resources development, by encouraging creativity and people-to-people connectivity. “Such measures should be considered significant for restructuring and recovering economic growth, enabling social protection, social welfare and human development,” said Prime Minister Dung. “I believe that APEC ministers and delegates will make suggestions and introduce new initiatives and effective solutions which are human-centered and at the same time, minimize the negative impacts of globalization and international labour division,” said Dung. “This includes unemployment, especially among young labourers; vulnerable groups, women, and people with disabilities in the labour market.” After the opening session, Ministers addressed the issue of inclusive and sustainable growth. Viet Nam Minister of Planning and Investment, Bui Quang Vinh, set the tone for the discussion. “While the need for social protection is widely recognized, fundamental human rights to social security remains unfulfilled for the large majority of the world’s population,” said Minister Bui. “Addressing the social dimensions of globalization to support inclusive growth and sustainable development is the main task for APEC economies,” Bui continued. “Though there is no single model that will fit all economies, social protection measures need to be synchronized to benefit the wider population within the context of poverty alleviation and prevention to help overcome inequalities.” “The success of the APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting will efficiently strengthen the regional linkages and cooperation to build up the Asia – Pacific region of self-resilience, cohesion, equitable, fair and sustainable development,” Prime Minister Dung concluded. \# # # **For additional details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:** David Hendrickson [+65 9137 3886](tel:%2B65%209137%203886) at [drh@apec.org](mailto:drh@apec.org) Michael Chapnick [+65 9647 4847](tel:%2B65%209647%204847) at [mc@apec.org](mailto:mc@apec.org) # **SME sector gets cross-border business boost** ## Issued by the 21st APEC SME Ministerial Meeting *Nanjing, 6 September 2014* – Small and Medium Enterprise Ministers from the APEC member economies have detailed a new package of joint actions to strengthen the development of the sector and increase its contribution to economic growth and job creation across the Asia-Pacific region. The measures are laid out in a Joint Statement issued by Ministers following the just concluded 21st APEC SME Ministerial Meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, a major SME center. Focus is on strengthening the innovation capacity and sustainability of SMEs while eliminating barriers to their participation in cross-border trade. *The APEC SME Joint Ministerial Statement can be viewed at this *[link](http://apec.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=659cda5df05da94188f4acaae&id=5e9a824b43&e=c4ea7dccfa&ref=foodconsumer.org)*.* “Without the robust development of SMEs, there will no sustainability of APEC economies and without the robust development of APEC, there won’t be a hopeful future for the global economy,” said Ma Wei, China’s Vice Premier. “Establishing a mechanism that supports development of SMEs is critical.” SMEs account for over 97 per cent of all businesses, employ over half the workforce and up to 60 per cent of the gross domestic product of APEC economies. But their share of exports is still relatively low at 35 per cent or less. “Through regional cooperation, there is a real opportunity for us to inject new impetus to the development of the SME sector,” added Miao Wei, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology who chaired the meeting. “Creating an enabling environment for SME development and improving their innovative development capabilities is key.” Ministers endorsed the Nanjing Declaration on Promoting SME Innovative Development which mandates policy support for electronic commerce platform development and the application of “big data” and “open data” to facilitate SME expansion and cross-border trade. It also calls for the establishment of a new APEC center for the promotion of information and communications technology within the sector. The Declaration furthermore welcomes the China Development Bank to explore the creation of a possible cooperative mechanism and designated loan, in coordination with associated financial institutions in the region, to provide financing support for SME innovation. *The Nanjing Declaration on Promoting SME Innovative Development can be viewed *[here](http://apec.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=659cda5df05da94188f4acaae&id=dccf1a4188&e=c4ea7dccfa&ref=foodconsumer.org)*.* “We are focused on measures that strengthen SMEs and microenterprises individually and collectively to capture their growth potential,” explained Dr Wimonkan Kosumas, Chair of the **[APEC SME Working Group](http://apec.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=659cda5df05da94188f4acaae&id=4626cf028d&e=c4ea7dccfa&ref=foodconsumer.org)**. “Creating an enabling business and policy environment and enhancing participation in, and access, to global markets are core elements of our agenda.” Ministers supported the creation of an APEC SME International Monitoring Index to better analyze the cross-border business growth of firms in the sector as well as initiatives that promote the integration of SMEs into global value chains, export-oriented business development among women-led SMEs and the lowering of barriers to start a business. A new APEC Business Ethics Web Portal was meanwhile launched to enhance firms’ ethics compliance knowledge and capacity to implement detailed codes of ethics known as the APEC Principles. Ministers called on APEC economies to double the number of codes of ethics in the medical device and biopharmaceutical sectors by 2015 and take the next step in others like construction to reduce corruption that stunts SME growth and market access. Enhancing emergency preparedness among vulnerable SME in the world’s most natural disaster prone region through greater business continuity planning, or BCP, promotion and training is an additional point of emphasis. The goal is to keep them up and running, ensure livelihoods and curb supply chain disruptions. “We are in a changed environment marked by lower trade and economic growth which is ramping up focus on new engines for growth,” concluded Dr Alan Bollard, APEC Secretariat Executive Director. “Increasing the trade share and productivity of SMEs are central to the new growth equation given that they’re everywhere and everything in our economies.” **For more:** Downloadable high resolution photos from the 21st APEC SME Ministerial Meeting are available at this [**link**](http://apec.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=659cda5df05da94188f4acaae&id=e3302854e2&e=c4ea7dccfa&ref=foodconsumer.org). \# # # **For additional details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:** David Hendrickson [+65 9137 3886](tel:%2B65%209137%203886) at [drh@apec.org](mailto:drh@apec.org) Michael Chapnick [+65 9647 4847](tel:%2B65%209647%204847) at [mc@apec.org](mailto:mc@apec.org) # **APEC Human Resources Development Ministers endorse Joint Ministerial Statement** ## Issued by the 6th Human Resource Development *Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 6 September 2014* – APEC Human Resource Development Ministers concluded their meeting on Saturday by endorsing a Joint Ministerial Statement focusing on APEC’s priority to promote people to people connectivity and committing to maximizing opportunities afforded by globalization to improve workforce capabilities, promote decent jobs, strengthen social protection and address inequality. Meeting in Ha Noi under the theme, “*Promoting Quality Employment and Strengthening People-to-People Connectivity through Human Resources Development*,” the Joint Ministerial Statement includes the following sections: - Supporting Inclusive and Sustainable Growth to Address the Social Dimensions of Globalization, including Equality and Needs of Vulnerable Groups - Enhancing Human Resource Quality to Meet Supply Chain Demands - Facilitating Mobility of Labor and Skills Development - Enhancing the Participation of Women in the Economy APEC Ministers also adopted the Action Plan (2015-2018), which sets out priority areas and actions as well as a follow-up mechanism to effectively implement the Joint Ministerial Statement. A joint news conference chaired by Minister of Viet Nam Planning and Investment, Bui Quang Vinh, will follow the conclusion of the meeting. Viet Nam will be the host economy for APEC in 2017. \# # # **For additional details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:** David Hendrickson [+65 9137 3886](tel:%2B65%209137%203886) at [drh@apec.org](mailto:drh@apec.org) Michael Chapnick [+65 9647 4847](tel:%2B65%209647%204847) at [mc@apec.org](mailto:mc@apec.org)