VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh took a group photo with delegates attending the ABAC 1 meeting on February 23 in Brisbane, Australia

Within the framework of ABAC I 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, at the invitation of ABAC Malaysia, as the Chairman of ABAC-ASEAN Caucus in 2025, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), an alternate member of ABAC Vietnam attended the first meeting of ASEAN members in APEC (ABAC - ASEAN Caucus), with the aim of focusing on promoting ASEAN's economic priorities in APEC, ensuring that the interests of ASEAN member economies are effectively represented.

Under the chairmanship of ABAC Malaysia, members focused on discussing three main areas: regional integration, digital transformation and sustainable development.

Accordingly, Mr. Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam bin Abdullah, member of ABAC Malaysia, emphasized the importance of unifying ASEAN priorities in ABAC and APEC, creating opportunities to effectively promote regional economic cooperation.

VCCI Vice ChairmanNguyen Quang Vinh attended the first meeting of ASEAN members in APEC (ABAC - ASEAN Caucus)

Members also had a number of important initiatives on related contents at the meeting. Specifically, the representative of ABAC Malaysia introduced the ASEAN Sustainability Report, while ABAC Indonesia shared about the Carbon Center of Excellence and the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain.

The representative of ABAC Singapore shared more about the economic value and environmental costs of the global digital economy; ABAC Thailand focused on digital trade connectivity. On the other hand, the representative of ABAC Philippines mentioned the ability to recover from natural disasters and ABAC Canada shared about ABAC's digital priorities.

The contributions of the members have helped shape ASEAN's cooperation strategy in important areas, while providing insights into the challenges and opportunities in the region.

In addition, the Vice Chairman of VCCI and members discussed to identify common strategic priorities of ASEAN in ABAC and APEC. Specifically, the parties emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in sustainability reporting, develop a common strategy on energy transition and electric vehicles, promote digital trade connectivity and support small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and enhance the ability to respond to natural disasters in the region.

At the meeting, Mr. Dato' Hazimah Zainuddin, member of ABAC Malaysia, affirmed ABAC Malaysia's commitment to coordinating the activities of the Caucus; at the same time, ensuring that ASEAN's priorities are included in the agenda of ABAC and APEC, contributing to promoting sustainable economic cooperation in the region.

VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh discussed with members in a panel discussion on the sidelines of the ABAC SOM Dialogue

Previously, VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh also attended the ABAC SOM Dialogue, aiming to enhance understanding between members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and APEC Senior Officials (SOM) on ABAC's priorities in 2025, as well as seek cooperation opportunities to promote APEC's common goals.

Delegates were divided into three discussion groups with important topics including: Trade & Investment: discussing the promotion of FTAAP to ensure sustainable and inclusive supply chains, as well as strengthening the role of the WTO in digital trade and addressing policy barriers.

During the Digitalization & Innovation session, delegates focused on using AI and digital tools to bridge the digital divide, support small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and enhance cooperation on smart healthcare systems and promote public-private partnerships (PPP).

VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh attended the plenary session of the ABAC SOM Dialogue

With the theme of sustainable development, the VCCI Vice Chairman made important comments on proposing solutions to promote practical energy transition, overcome investment barriers and address infrastructure challenges to ensure energy security and digital transformation.

The ABAC SOM Dialogue brought many valuable contributions and agreed on a number of important directions, including the parties agreeing to strengthen the coordination between ABAC and SOM to promote the FTAAP process, support small and medium enterprises through digitalization initiatives, and promote public-private partnerships to address challenges in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

All participants committed to continue to cooperate to implement practical solutions, contributing to promoting regional economic integration in a sustainable and comprehensive manner.