Finance Ministers' Meeting Today - Opening by Viet Nam's Prime Minister

APEC Finance Ministers began a two-day meeting today during which they are discussing a number of issues that will have an impact on the future direction of the regional economy.

The 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will be opened by the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung, today and conclude with a news conference on Friday.

The formal policy themes of the meeting are "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources" and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows."

Under the latter theme the issues of savings rates, exchange rate flexibility and demand growth around the APEC region are likely to feature in discussions by ministers.

These and other issues will then be considered for inclusion in the Joint Ministerial Statement that will be delivered on Friday afternoon.

Ministers will also consider advances in APEC's work on dealing with the financial challenges posed by an aging population.

The meeting will be chaired by Viet Nam's Finance Minister, Mr Vu Van Ninh.

APEC Finance Ministers have met each year since 1994 to consider issues of significance to the regional global economy.

The APEC Secretariat will post the Joint Ministerial Statement and a range of media materials including news releases and webcasts, where these are appropriate, on the APEC website.