Some 600 officials and entrepreneurs from inside and outside the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathered in Hanoi today, discussing measures to improve investment environment in the region in an attempt to share related experiences.

The APEC 2006 Investment Forum offers delegates "an opportunity to share experience, work out measures to improve investment environment and quality, and contribute to the theme of APEC 2006' Towards a Dynamic Community for Sustainable Development and Prosperity' with the Hanoi Action Plan to materialize the Ban Roadmap to achieve the Bog Goals of trade and investment liberalization," Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said when addressing the one-day forum.

The forum's delegates exchanged experiences about and put forth measures of enhancing investment climate in their own countries as well as foreign ones. David Knapp, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Vietnam, made five suggestions, including improving intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, combating corruption more vigorously, and creating greater legal certainty.

His suggestions also consisted of intensifying investment in infrastructure and improving Vietnam's education system. "The challenge of modernizing the higher education system is one of the most important components of a country's globalization process, and one that directly affects the options and prospects of future generations," he stated.

The forum is one of events of the APE Economic Leaders' Meeting Week which include the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 18-19 and the 18th APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 15-16.

Being a dynamic economic region grouping 21 member economies, including China, the United States, Japan and Russia, and representing 56 percent of the world's gross domestic product and about 47 percent of international trade, APEC plays an important role in economic development at the global scale.