31st APEC Ministerial Meeting held via videoconference (Source: apec.org) Hanoi (VNA) – Ministers of 21 APEC member economies have committedto maintaining cooperation to support economic recovery in the context of theCOVID-19 gravely impacting the world.
In a joint statement issued at the online 31st APEC Ministerial Meeting on November 16, participating ministers stressed: “Wewill continue to cooperate, and act swiftly to foster quality growth, safeguardthe lives and livelihoods of our people to enhance the resilience of oureconomies and support strong and inclusive economic recovery.”
The joint statement highlighted the importance of a free,open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade andinvestment environment to drive economic recovery at such a challenging time.
“Any emergency trade measures designed to address COVID-19should be targeted, proportionate, transparent, temporary, do not createunnecessary barriers to trade, and are consistent with WTO rules,” it reiterated.
“We will further advance the economic integration in theregion, in a manner that is market-driven, including through the work on theFree Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda which will contribute tohigh quality and comprehensive regional undertakings,” ministers said in theirstatement.
A reliable, interoperable, open, accessible and secure ICTenvironment leads to a more interconnected and inclusive region, they stated,urging members to share best practices to harness the opportunities of digitaleconomy and foster an enabling environment, acknowledging the importance ofcooperation on facilitating the flow of data and strengthening consumer andbusiness trust in digital transactions.
The 21 APEC member economies form a region accounting for 37percent of the global population, 48 percent of the world trade, and 60 percentof the global GDP./.
VNA
