Vietnam - A key driver of regional economic growth and recovery

Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam. (Photo: Korean Embassy in Vietnam)

What are your comments on the significance of the APEC 2025 Summit and its theme, “Building a Sustainable Future,” in the current context, Ambassador?

The 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Gyeongju, Korea, from October 31 to November 1, 2025. This year’s summit is significant as it is held during heightened geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainties.

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Under the theme and priorities of “Building a Sustainable Future: Connect, Innovate, Prosper,” APEC Leaders will chart a vision for shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as explore ways to revitalise free trade, investment, and economic cooperation amid today’s global uncertainties.

First, “Connect” refers to advancing trade and investment within the Asia-Pacific region and strengthening connectivity through physical, institutional, and people-to-people exchanges. “Innovate” represents the promotion of digital innovation through AI cooperation and efforts to bridge the digital divide, aligning with Korea’s digital powerhouse role.

Lastly, “Prosper” embodies the pursuit of sustainable and inclusive growth in the Asia-Pacific through collective responses to pressing global issues, such as energy and food security, and demographic shifts. Through the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, we hope to reaffirm APEC’s commitment to dialogue and cooperation amid growing global uncertainties and send hope to the international community.

Could you please share with us the key priorities of the 2025 APEC Summit and the major highlights that the Republic of Korea aims to emphasise?

As the APEC Chair in 2025, Korea will put forward two key deliverables that address transformative trends shaping the economic and social landscape of the Asia-Pacific region: “AI cooperation” and “Responding to Demographic Shifts.”

Both initiatives are designed to present a shared vision and concrete avenues of cooperation among member economies. In AI cooperation, Korea aims to set an APEC-wide direction for AI utilisation, focusing on strengthening AI capabilities and building a sustainable AI investment ecosystem.

Meanwhile, in addressing demographic shifts, discussions will focus on specific APEC policy cooperation measures designed to turn demographic challenges into opportunities for future growth and innovation—such as establishing systems to respond to ageing societies, enhancing human resource mobility, and promoting innovation in healthcare and technology.

These subjects are core agendas that have wide-ranging implications for the economic and social landscape of the Asia-Pacific region. It is significant that, for the first time, APEC Leaders will discuss and seek consensus on joint responses to these issues.

Furthermore, it is hoped that the Leaders’ Meeting will produce tangible outcomes based on the discussions held at various ministerial meetings - covering areas such as trade, human resources development, education, digital and AI, food security, and women’s empowerment.

Gyeongju Hwabaek International Convention Center. (Photo: Yonhap)

What are your expectations for Vietnam’s contributions within the Summit framework and its capacity to advance APEC’s shared priorities?

The world today is facing new challenges such as supply chain restructuring, energy security, and the rapid advancement of AI and digital transformation. As the Asia-Pacific region’s largest forum for economic cooperation—accounting for about 61% of global GDP and half of international trade—APEC is expected to be a vital platform for exploring practical solutions to these shared challenges.

Vietnam, along with Russia and Peru, was among the last economies to join APEC in 1998. Yet, following Hanoi in 2006 and Da Nang in 2017, Vietnam will assume the APEC chairmanship for the third time in 2027, in Phu Quoc. The fact that Vietnam has hosted the APEC Summit roughly every decade demonstrates its significant contribution to peace and shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

As a dynamic emerging economy, Vietnam plays a key role in driving growth and recovery in regional and global economies. Building on its fast-paced policy initiatives in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and private sector development, Vietnam’s economic growth is expected to exceed 8% this year.

Vietnam’s active participation is expected to inject fresh momentum into APEC’s efforts to promote inclusive growth and practical economic cooperation, further strengthening collaboration among its member economies.

How can Korea and Vietnam work together to take the lead in advancing APEC’s key priorities in the context of the new development landscape?

During Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Korea last August, the leaders of both sides agreed to continue strengthening cooperation on multilateral platforms, including APEC. As Korea assumes the APEC chairmanship in 2025 and Vietnam in 2027, the two sides will form part of the APEC Troika, working closely together to set and prioritise key APEC agendas to ensure the success of the APEC Leaders’ Meetings.

The APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 identifies three key pillars—trade and investment, innovation and digitalisation, and inclusive and sustainable growth. These pillars are fully aligned with the direction of cooperation between Korea and Vietnam. In particular, during the state visit of General Secretary To Lam in August, the two leaders agreed to expand bilateral economic cooperation beyond traditional trade and investment to include digital transformation, advanced science and technology, renewable energy, and critical minerals.

Such forward-looking bilateral cooperation between Korea and Vietnam, both leading members of APEC, will not only advance the partnership between the two countries but also lay a solid foundation for APEC and other multilateral frameworks to address global challenges such as supply chain restructuring, energy security, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation.

Furthermore, APEC cooperation between Korea and Vietnam extends beyond government-to-government efforts. In July, the Third APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting 2025 was successfully held in Hai Phong, with the participation of President Luong Cuong. In addition, leading Vietnamese enterprises such as SOVICO and Vietjet are expected to visit Gyeongju, Korea, to participate in upcoming APEC-related activities.

Such vibrant business-to-business engagement within APEC is expected to further promote the development of relations between Korea and Vietnam and contribute to addressing regional and global issues through APEC cooperation.

Thank you, Ambassador!

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