Chilean President Sebastian Piñera held a ceremony to present the 2019 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile, saying free trade must be protected.
“Our position is clear, we defend the open economy and free trade in APEC and throughout the world., and we oppose all forms of protectionism and unfair competition,” Piñera said during his presentation speech.
The Chilean president said that the ceremony, which will take place in November next year, will welcome 21 leaders of the Asia Pacific economy, noting that "it will be an important event, since it marks 30 years since APEC was born."
The Pacific, center of the world
Piñera justified Chile's choice as the host country by saying that "previously, Chile was a country on the periphery, but today the centre of the world is concentrated in the Pacific Ocean."
“Chile is today one of the most open countries in the world. We have free trade agreements that connect us and unite us with more than two-thirds of the world's population and more than four-fifths of the world's gross domestic product,” he said.
The president said that APEC's final major project will be to "create a large free trade zone among the 21 economies that make up this forum."
APEC Priorities
Piñera said that this meeting will consist of four major priorities:
1. Promote the technological revolution. 2. Move towards 4.0 integration and facilitate trade between countries. 3. Promote inclusive growth so that everyone benefits from progress. 4. Manage the problem of climate change.
The 21 APEC economies represent 40% of the world's population, 60% of global GDP and 50% of total trade.
This is the second time that Chile has organized an APEC summit, after the one held in November 2004.
The APEC Summit will be held on November 16-17, 2019.
Source: Based on Spuntik
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