Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern on July 12 announced a plan to arrange a virtual meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) slated for this week, which will focus on COVID-19 and measures to cope with its negative impact on the economies.
COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: http://chinhphu.vn/) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern on July 12 announced a plan to arrange a virtual meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) slated for this week, which will focus on COVID-19 and measures to cope with its negative impact on the economies.
Adern is set to chair the annual APEC Summit which will held in November in the form of a videoconference. However, she called for the informal meeting of APEC leaders on July 16 in the hope of seeking immediate steps to address the COVID-19 crisis.
In a statement, she said that this is the first time in APEC's history that leaders have had an additional meeting at leaders' level and it reflects their desire to navigate together out of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis.
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) The statement noted that APEC economies have suffered their biggest contraction since World War II over the past year, with 81 million jobs lost. Therefore, responding collectively is vital to accelerate the economic recovery for the region, the statement continued.
Earlier on June 5, trade ministers of 21 APEC member economies agreed on a target to obtain a quick economic recovery in the context of COVID-19, starting with an acceleration in vaccine distribution./.
COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: http://chinhphu.vn/) 
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
