Indeed, no other forum has been able to provide such a platform for world leaders from Asia and the Americas to exchange views and try to convince each other on trade and other issues. More importantly, as host this year, Vietnam has effectively used this meeting to showcase its rapid economic development and the constructive role that the Communist Party has played in bringing new prosperity.

In Hanoi, negotiators from the North Korean six-party talks discussed joint strategies to ensure the nuclear disarmament of North Korea. Since Pyongyang is not a member of Apec, it did not attend the meeting. This was the first time that leaders from China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia - the other five members of the North Korean talks - exchanged views outside their regular forum.

To make sure that the summit's objective, trade, was not lost amid other discussions, the Apec leaders issued a statement that called for the resumption of the WTO's Doha round of talks, which collapsed due to disagreement over policies on agricultural subsidies in some of the Apec-member countries. In Hanoi, the Apec leaders pledged to reduce their farm subsidies further and establish new openings in trade and services.

US President George W Bush also used the Apec summit as an opportunity to press Burma to end its nearly three decades of political repression. Burma is not a member of Apec, but President Bush chose the meeting he had with the leaders of seven Asean members to urge the regional body to do more about its pariah partner.

Washington has indicated that it will ask for a tougher United Nations resolution during the next round of UN Security Council meetings next month. UN assistant secretary general for political affairs, Ibrahim Gambari went to Burma recently and met with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest, but nothing concrete resulted from the meeting. Gambari is scheduled to brief the Security Council on the situation in Burma soon.

For Vietnam, this gathering of leaders has been seen as a much-needed barometer. The once war-torn country has emerged in the last few years to become one of the world's most dynamic economies. Becoming the newest member of the World Trade Organisation has also confirmed its new economic strength and potential. Unfortunately, last week the United States Congress refused to approve the extension of permanent normal trade relations status for Vietnam. This was something of an embarrassment for the Apec host because it expected to come through the US debate without any problem. Nonetheless, this congressional setback in its status will not affect the future investment climate in Vietnam. In the months to come, Hanoi is expected to gain from even more foreign investment. Up to this point, the country has received more than $US7 billion worth of direct investment. This year Vietnam expects to achieve the world's second highest economic progress after China. Both in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City the streets are bustling with new imported cars and new foreign restaurants catering to wealthier clients; more and more luxurious goods are available, and the construction boom continues apace.

For the time being, Vietnam's fantastic economic growth will continue and its people will continue to enjoy the fruits of the economic reforms that began in 1986. But in the future, the enterprising Vietnamese will want to have more space to participate in nation building. This youthful and energetic country is still under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The country will need another round of reforms, more difficult to achieve, to ensure its competitive edge in the era of globalisation.