The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is ready to connect the lessons of the past with the vision of the future, said Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero on Monday (4.3.2019).
During the inauguration of the APEC Vision Group (AVG) in Santiago, Chile, Ampuero said that APEC "can once again be a key driver and an important contributor to strengthening the architecture of global trade."
The creation of the AVG was agreed upon during the 2017 leaders' meeting, when much of APEC's work focused on determining how best to address unfinished business objectives and the mechanism for developing its vision beyond 2020.
This year, Chile will host the 2019 APEC Economic Leaders Summit, which will be held on November 16 and 17.
"We need growth that is comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable. You have been entrusted with an enormous responsibility, and Chile, as host of APEC in 2019, wants to help you achieve the best possible result," said Ampuero.
The AVG's mission is to propose to the "senior representatives a post-2020 vision" for the forum and the region, which complements the existing Bogor Goals related to trade and investment liberalization in Asia-Pacific, according to the Chilean Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The group, established in 2018, is made up of “eminent persons” from each economy, tasked with supporting and providing recommendations to senior representatives in creating this vision.
Regarding the experts' proposals, Ampuero added that "they are closely related to the main axes of Chile, which also include digital issues, inclusive, responsible and sustainable growth."
"There is also the issue of women, women's participation in the economy, and there is also the issue of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)," she said.
"SMEs are represented because we want as many of them as possible to also be integrated into global trade," he added.
Ampuero recalled that Chile has adopted the goal of achieving free and open trade and investment in Asia-Pacific, and has worked towards this goal over the past 25 years.
“We did it because we believed it was the best thing for our people. Today we can prove the truth of this. By all socio-economic development indices, we are better off now than we were 25 years ago, thanks in large part to our trade-related growth,” he said.
About APEC
APEC emerged in 1989 as an engine to facilitate economic growth, technical and economic cooperation, trade and investment facilitation and liberalization in the economies of the Asia-Pacific region.
Chile chaired the forum in 2004 and is expected to host some 2019 delegates at the 20.000 summit, in addition to holding some 200 meetings of member economies, according to the Chilean foreign ministry.
The priority topics to be addressed at APEC Chile 2019 will be “Services and the digital economy”, “Regional connectivity” and “Women and economic growth”.
APEC member economies represent the most dynamic economic region with 40 percent of the world's population, 60 percent of global gross domestic product and 50 percent of global trade.
Source: Xinhua
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