President Duterte delivers his pre-departure speech before his trip to the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Vietnam

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, as he is about to attend the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) in Da Nang City, Vietnam on November 8-11, 2017.


Established in 1989, APEC is a regional economic forum that aims to accelerate economic integration and build greater prosperity by promoting free trade and balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative, and secure growth for the 21 APEC Member Economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC Vietnam 2017 is the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Vietnam, which will culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang to be hosted at InterContinental.  It marks the second time Vietnam will be playing host to the APEC, having hosted the event previously in 2006.

This will be the first APEC meeting for United States President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Hongkong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardem, since their inaugurations on 20 January 2017, 10 May 2017, 1 July 2017 and 26 October 2017, respectively.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Committee for APEC 2017 through the Agency for Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition organized a logo design contest for the APEC Vietnam 2017 summit.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte arrives at the Da Nang International Airport in Vietnam to commence his participation in the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) on November 8, 2017.

Welcoming the President is Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Noel Servigon on behalf of the Embassy, and officials from the Vietnam side.

President Duterte is one of the 21 leaders from the APEC Member Economies attending the region's premier economic forum that bears the theme, "Creating New Dynamism, Fostering A Shared Future."