Vietnam to host its third APEC summit in 2027

Vietnam will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2027 for the third time, per the 2023 APEC Leaders’ Golden Gate Declaration adopted Friday in San Francisco.

“We look forward to the upcoming APEC host years of Peru (2024), the Republic of Korea (2025), and Vietnam (2027), and we pledge our support to those economies as they advance APEC’s vital work,” the declaration said.

A foreign ministry release quoted President Vo Van Thuong, who led a high-ranking delegation to attend the annual event held November 14-17 in San Francisco, as saying his proposal to host the summit showed Vietnam’s “desire to continue contributing to APEC's progress.”

It also quoted Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son as saying hosting the APEC 2027 summit demonstrated “a strategic view on the Asia-Pacific region” and “a vivid token of trust from APEC members as well as the international community in Vietnam’s role and status in the international arena.”

Vietnam hosted the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Hanoi in 2006 and in Danang in 2017.

The 21 APEC member economies account for 30% of the world’s population, 62% of its GDP and nearly 50% of global trade.

During his four-day stay in San Francisco, the Vietnamese president had a packed agenda with multilateral gatherings and bilateral meetings with a number of foreign presidents and heads of government, as well as executives of Apple and Boeing.

He called on the U.S. government to show political will and bypass rigid regulations and recognize Vietnam's status as a market economy soon.