APEC Leaders Support Bangkok Goals for Sustainability
Leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies issued a declaration on Saturday November 19, and endorsed an outcome document on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US Vice-President Kamala Harris were among attendees at the gathering.
The announcement affirmed APEC leaders' long-standing commitment to promoting strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as their commitment to recognizing the APEC Putrajaya Vision of an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040.
The leaders said in the declaration, they remain resolute to uphold and further strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system. They also welcomed progress in advancing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), and will continue to build on this momentum towards high-quality and comprehensive regional undertakings through the FTAAP Agenda Work Plan.
“Member economies will continue to promote efforts to strengthen APEC's leadership, standing as the premier economic forum of the Asia-Pacific, as well as a modern, efficient and effective incubator of ideas. APEC's cooperation will contribute to practical solutions for common challenges and complement global efforts including the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” the declaration stated.
The leaders further reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing an open and interconnected Asia-Pacific region, including through the implementation of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint (2015-2025).
They also pledged to strengthen physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity as well as take advantage of digital connectivity, and intensify efforts to promote regional, sub-regional and remote area connectivity through quality infrastructure development and investment.
In addition, the leaders said they will accelerate the implementation of the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap (AIDER) to harness new and emerging technologies and the full potential of the society as well as create an enabling, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory digital ecosystem for businesses and consumers.
US Takes Over
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's gathering was the first in-person meeting of the APEC economic leaders since 2018, which was held under the theme of "Open, Connect, Balance."
APEC, formulated in 1989, is a leading regional economic forum whose objective is to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity across the considerable and diverse Asia-Pacific region.
With nearly 40 percent of the world population, the APEC member economies account for almost half of global trade and in excess of 60% of the world's total gross domestic product.
At a media briefing, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha commented that the Bangkok meeting is a shared success by all APEC members, who wish to see the regional framework operating in the face of volatile global contexts to advance economic growth for the future of the region.
The Thai prime minister then handed over the APEC chairmanship to the United States for APEC 2023.
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