Hanoi (VNA) – Athree-day conference on ASEAN-APO cooperation in enhancing productivity openedin Hanoi on December 9 to raise mutual understanding between ASEAN and theAsian Productivity Organisation (APO), towards fulfilling the United Nationssustainable development goals.

The conference is held by theDirectorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality under Vietnam’s Ministry ofScience and Technology.

Speaking at the event,Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said the VietnameseGovernment highlights ASEAN’s role in reshaping the world following the COVID-19pandemic and adjusting the global production and supply chain.

With ASEAN’s existingcompetitiveness, digital transformation capacity and high-quality humanresources, cooperation initiatives on productivity between ASEAN and APO allowparties concerned to tap new opportunities and cooperation areas with specificprojects, helping member economies become more productive, competitive andresilient to uncertainties in the world, he said.

He called on small,medium-sized and micro enterprises to adopt smart and creative measures to improvetheir productivity and competitiveness, especially those working in industrialproduction, agriculture and services.

The minister affirmed thatthe Ministry of Science and Technology will offer all possible support to theDirectorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality – Vietnam’s permanentrepresentative at APO, to fulfill its role as Chair of the ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality(ACCSQ), contributing to successfully realising an initiative on smartproduction 2020.

JapaneseAmbassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio said the Japanese Government is always readyto assist Vietnam and ASEAN member states in improving labour productivity.

The eventwill last till December 11./.