Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh made the call at an APEC symposium on trade and innovation, co-held by his ministry and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry on May 19 in Hanoi, as part of the 23rd Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT 23).“Trade is one of the key factors in designing policy and strategy for innovation. Trading of innovation has helped APEC members bolster their trade relations," Tuan Anh said.Anh noted that the region’s average tax rate declined from 11% in 1996 to 5.5 % in 2016, which reflected efforts made by the region and each economy to implement cooperative activities on trade liberalisation and trade and investment facilitation.

The International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific estimates growth for the region to increase this year to 5.5 % from 5.3% in 2016, he said.

The minister underlined the need for APEC economies to coordinate harmoniously in building a general trade system towards equality and balance, for interests of people and businesses and for prosperity of society.

APEC trade ministers discussed how to make use of policies to inspire innovation and the government’s role in the commercialization of innovation in APEC members, especially in developing economies.

Regarding the MRT 23, Minister Anh said that Vietnam places high priority on major outcomes that need to be reached during the event aiming to coordinate with other APEC economies in building a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region.

The same day, the Ministry of Industry and Trade held the 3rd APEC Public-Private Dialogue on trade facilitation and supply chain connectivity via the Asia-Pacific model E-port network.