Delegates at the symposium (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – Growth cannot besustainable unless it is economically, financially and socially inclusive, APECofficials said at a symposium in Ho Chi Minh City on August 28.
In his opening remarks atthe “Symposium on Promoting Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion in APEC”, Permanent Deputy Minister ofForeign Affairs of Vietnam Bui Thanh Son, who is also APEC 2017 SOM Chair,said that economic inclusion provides access to economicopportunity for all members of society to meaningfully participate in theeconomic life of their economy as employers, entrepreneurs, consumers andcitizens.
Financial inclusion provides access to useful and affordable financialproducts and services that meet their needs, such as transactions, payments,savings, credit and insurance, which are delivered in a responsible andsustainable way, he said.
Meanwhile, social inclusion is the process of improving the terms forindividuals and groups to take part in society. Social inclusion aims toempower all members of society to take advantage of burgeoning global opportunitiesand enhance equity, he added.
According to the Deputy Minister, equal attention should be paid to threedimensions of economic, financial and social inclusion. Effectiveness of eachdimension would be reduced if the other two are not keeping pace. Conversely,enhanced effectiveness of one dimension will feed into the other two. It istherefore imperative for APEC to take a strategic and holistic approach toinclusion.
While APEC has made lots of efforts to promote inclusion, there remain significant gaps between what APEC has done and theexpectations of the people, he said.
To strengthen APEC’s role as a driving force of global growth, allsegments of society will need to be brought on board, he stressed.
Inclusion is really at the heart of all economies, developed anddeveloping, he said, adding that Vietnam is noexception.
Son further explained that more than 30 years of "Doi moi" (reform), the country has brought about significant socio-economicprogress. Yet Vietnam is stillgrappling with increasing income inequality. Therefore, Vietnam is resolved to build a facilitating andaction-oriented government that works for the people and businesses.
Addressing the event, Kamal Malhotra, ResidentCoordinator of the UN in Vietnam, said that while many APEC member economieshave well earned reputation for economic transformation and completedsubstantial progress in poverty reduction and economic growth, the challengesahead in sustaining the progress are significant andshould not be underestimated.
He affirmed that the UN in Vietnam and in other APECeconomies stand ready to provide technical, operational and pragmatic support neededby the governments to identify and implement feasible and innovative solutionsto challenges to economic, financial and social inclusion.
Ousmane Dione, the World Bank (WB)’s Country Directorfor Vietnam, also said the WB is committed to supporting countries and regions,including APEC, in this regard.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency(VNA), AlanBollard, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, said that the symposium is very important for APEC and for APEC Vietnam Year as well because it is in the middle of the priorities that Vietnamwants to achieve for delivery in Da Nang city in November.
“The discussion in the room today is about how to make sure that peoplein the society are actually getting inclusive benefits from economic growth,not just some people but all people,” he said.
Valery E.Sorokin, Ambassador-at-Large, Senior Officialof Russia for APEC, said promoting economic, financial and social inclusion isa major initiative of Vietnam, and Russia most strongly supports this because thecountry also has some projects andinitiatives in the same topic.
“One of the initiatives of Russia is about how todevelop economic growth and integration in APEC economies. You know Russia isvery big, we have a lot of regions, we have many remote areas which needdevelopment and we think that practically all other APEC economies have thesame problem. That is why our initiative got universal support,” he said.
Delegates at the event discussed a range of issueslike women’s economic empowerment, internet and digital connectivity,innovative business models, the operation of micro, small and medium-sizedenterprises, integrated and connected ASEAN, among others.-VNA
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