Vietnam ready for upcoming APEC meetings
12/11/2006 11:31
Strolling around a street in downtown Hanoi, 56-year-old Nguyen Huy Tuan
marveled at the exquisitely presented fresh flower pots which created the
message of "Welcome to APEC Vietnam 2006."
"We are very proud to host the
APEC forum in the capital. This is the largest international conference ever
held in our country," said the retired factory worker while praising the bright
floral decoration for the occasion.
Like other Vietnamese residents, Tuan is
eagerly looking forward to the approaching 14th Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum meetings, which are expected to draw attendance of most
of the leaders from the 21 member economies, including Chinese President Hu
Jintao, US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to
Hanoi.
One can feel the jubilance as the city with around 4 million
population is being jazzed up by the big event. Hanoi, in the cool autumn breeze
and cozy sunshine, is decked with flamboyant flags and colored billboards for
the meetings. Red banners with yellow lettering, featuring greetings to the
delegations, stretch across streets, while huge posters highlighting the forum's
theme " Towards a dynamic community for sustainable development and prosperity"
can be seen everywhere.
At busy intersections of the city and on tree-lined
streets leading to the state-of-the-art meeting venue the National Conference
Center, fresh flowerbeds have been planted to give more charm to the host
city.
The most heavily decorated building is the newly-built German- designed
conference center, which cost nearly US$300 million and has a floor space of six
hectares. At the center, where the APEC Economic Leaders' meeting and some other
important events such as the Joint Ministerial Meeting and the Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) Summit are scheduled to take place from Nov. 12-19, flags of APEC
member economies and placards carrying the meeting's logo are fluttering.
The
annual forum meetings are scheduled to discuss important issues including
boosting trade and investment and ensuring sustainable development among APEC
members, global trade liberalization, human security, economic and technological
cooperation and APEC reform.
"APEC is a good opportunity to promote the
country and its people to the world, contributing to raising Vietnam's prestige
and status in international forums," Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia
Khiem has said.
Amid the festive atmosphere, city workers were busy sprucing
up Hanoi by cleaning crowded streets in last-minute work on Saturday, while a
loudspeaker from a street corner downtown was urging local people to keep the
environment clean.
"Our city is so clean and beautiful now. I hope foreigners
will have good impressions and more visitors will come in the future," said
40-year-old Nguyen Thanh Ha, owner of a silk shop in Hanoi's old quarter. "And
of course, we can sell more goods."
Like Ha, many local businesspeople are
eager to make use of this golden chance to promote their products. The Thai Tuan
Textile Company will offer guests to the meetings 650 traditional ao dai (long
dresses) and 100 women jackets which feature bronze drums, lotuses and straw
conical hats, Vietnam's symbols, and APEC 's logo. Meanwhile, the Trung Nguyen
Coffee Company will provide 10 tons of coffee, and the Vietnam Mit Company 500
kilograms of dried fruits, sweet potatoes and taros, to the meetings.
The
Vietnamese government has also prepared for guests some souvenirs bearing the
Vietnamese cultural identity, including boats made from precious wood and
silver, and Vietnamese-English photo albums entitled "Vietnam, my love."
Besides, skillful Vietnamese artisans have made portraits of 19 leaders of APEC
economies from gemstones and colored sand to present to them on the
occasion.
In fact, the whole nation has been mobilized to showcase the charm
and beauty of its cities, heritages, and monuments with a series of cultural,
art and sports activities nationwide. The APEC film week, fashion shows, music
programs, and handicraft and photograph exhibitions have already made a splash
in Hanoi and created more heat for the festive atmosphere.
Hotels have also
joined the heat. Two five-star hotels, Sofitel Metropole and Sofitel Plaza, are
preparing specialties of Vietnam for a gala dinner to be hosted by Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet. Other hotels in the city have also imported food,
upgraded facilities and redecorated themselves to receive more than 10,000
anticipated guests.
More than 10,000 hotel rooms, including over 2,000
five-star ones, have been fully booked for the meeting week, according to the
Hanoi Tourism Department.
In Vietnam, all is ready to host the meetings to
give a new boost to the fresh economic cooperation among the Asia-Pacific
region, which accounts for more than a third of the world's population, nearly
60 percent of the world's gross domestic product, and about 47 percent of the
world trade.
Xinhua News
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