PETALING JAYA: The recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit has set the direction for the region to head towards becoming a resilient and dynamic economic community.
This year’s summit saw the successful adoption of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 which will serve as the main guiding document for APEC in the next 20 years, building off the Bogor goals launched in 1994.
The result of close collaborations with APEC economies, the Putrajaya Vision looks towards building an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040 to ensure shared prosperity.
The international trade and industry ministry – the national secretariat of APEC 2020 – said there are three key economic drivers under the vision, namely trade and investment; innovation and digitalisation; and strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The Kuala Lumpur Declaration 2020 was also adopted in APEC 2020, with senior officials working to the eleventh hour to reach a consensus on the declaration.
“This, for me, is a clear demonstration of what we are capable of accomplishing when we set aside our differences and focus on our shared values,” Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as saying recently.
Under the declaration, economic leaders stressed the need for equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable vaccines and reaffirmed their support for the ongoing work at the World Trade Organization.
They also gave their support for greater economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region under the declaration and to pursue policies that would support the growth of micro SMEs, women, and other untapped economic potential.
The declaration also reflects the economies’ will to facilitate access to affordable energy, improve energy security and resilience for sustainable growth, while strengthening stakeholders’ engagements on the road to economic recovery.
APEC 2020 also saw seven joint ministerial statements following six sectoral ministerial meetings, namely trade, health, finance, women, SME, and food security.
Extraordinary meetings convened also resulted in the Declaration on Facilitating the Movement of Essential Goods in APEC, the proposal to review measures facilitating essential movement of people, and the APEC Covid-19 live campaign site.
Muhyiddin, in his speech at the virtual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov 20, acknowledged the various responses in the region towards addressing the pandemic and the role APEC played in striking a balance between health and economic needs through stimulus packages, lockdowns and travel bubbles.
Meanwhile, country leaders acknowledged the need to strengthen economic and technical cooperation and grow in human resource development to offer better support to affected workers.
They also called for an empowering economic environment to support the growth of the digital economy and for inclusive policies for the post-pandemic regional recovery.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/03/apec-2020-sets-direction-for-dynamic-and-resilient-asia-pacific/