The Asia-Pacific Week (APW) was launched in Berlin on May 18, attractinga number of high-profile officials from Germany and Asian-Pacificcountries alongside representatives from German enterprises.

Attendees included Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and TradeTran Tuan Anh and Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh.

Themed “Smart Cities”, the 10 th APW includesseminars, conferences, exhibitions and music concerts held at theFederal Foreign Office, CityCube Berlin and several local museums anduniversities.

Smart cities are cities that usedigital technologies to enhance performance and well-being, reduce costsand resource consumption, and engage more effectively with itscitizens. Key “smart” sectors include transport, energy, healthcare,water and waste.

Highlights will be the EmbassyDay and the Business and Technology Conference. Embassy Day will providea forum for diplomatic missions from the Asia-Pacific region to presenttheir countries and market opportunities to German companies, while thelatter event will discuss new business models, partnerships andfinancing for smart cities as well as propose strategies and technicalsolutions.

Representatives from embassies ofAsia-Pacific nations were invited to tour the EUREF-Campus, one of thefirst smart cities in Berlin.

Organised since1997, the APW has provided a forum to discuss important themes inbusiness, politics, research-science, culture and society.

Since then, it has served as a platform for Vietnam to introduce itsculture, landscapes and investment opportunities to internationalparticipants.-VNA