Working together – as APEC Economic Leaders demonstrated recently – to find coherent, timely solutions to complex global challenges is the only way the region will continue to thrive, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) declared today during their third virtual meeting for the year.
Rachel Taulelei, Chair of ABAC for 2021, said that the Council had finalized its annual Letter and Report to APEC Economic Leaders at the meeting.
“Our key message to Leaders
is that a prosperous, peaceful and resilient future will only be achieved
through our collective efforts. The
challenges we face are profound – but they are also shared. The pandemic is the most urgent problem, but
we also need to navigate climate change, faltering economic growth and digital
disruption. Standing alone and turning
inwards is not the right strategy in a deeply interconnected world,” said Ms
Taulelei.
The New Zealand Prime
Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, opened the meeting. “We were honoured to have the opportunity to
share some of our thinking directly with PM Ardern and we were able to
congratulate her on hosting the first ever mid-year, Informal Meeting of APEC
Leaders,” said Ms Taulelei. “It is clear
that there is considerable common ground with ABAC. We look forward to our annual Dialogue with
APEC Leaders in November.”
Rachel Taulelei explained
that ABAC had made a broad set of recommendations in its Report, reflecting the
range of complex issues facing the region.
“A collective response to
the pandemic is the most critical priority.
If we want to put COVID behind us, we need faster, more equitable and
universal vaccination, complemented by freeing up trade in vaccines, essential
medical supplies and services.
Vaccination is also key to the safe and seamless reopening of borders,
when the time is right, which will in turn enable economic recovery. APEC
should develop a coherent regional framework for this,” she said.
Ms Taulelei recalled that
ABAC’s theme for 2021 was ‘People, Place and Prosperity’, or ‘T?ngata, Taiao
me te Taurikura’. Taking a holistic
view on how those priorities could be integrated and amplified had informed
ABAC’s recommendations.
“The well-being of our people
must be at the heart of all that we do – so we have recommended
capacity-building and structural reform to help empower small businesses, women
and Indigenous communities. We also call
for a digitally-enhanced and trade-friendly food system: ensuring people are adequately
nourished is fundamental to achieving all other objectives.
“When it comes to place,
we are committed to ensuring that sustainability underpins and drives all of
APEC’s economic activity going forward.
To that end, we have agreed a set of Climate Change Leadership
Principles and a framework for trade in renewable energy which we want to see
adopted more broadly.
“As for prosperity,
APEC can demonstrate real leadership here, as it has done so effectively in the
past – by championing a credible and relevant World Trade Organisation, putting
in place some of the building blocks towards the eventual Free Trade Area of
the Asia-Pacific, and ensuring that we leverage the potential of the digital
economy through greater capacity-building, more accessible infrastructure and
making sure that digital trade can flow seamlessly across the region.
Ms Taulelei commented that
there was a need for urgency.
“The time for action is
now. “History shows that a crisis often
generates new creativity and new momentum.
Our key takeaway for Leaders is that we need to start seeing results in
all of these areas.
“This will help us
kickstart the implementation of the Putrajaya Vision 2040 that Leaders agreed
last November, which is obviously important.
But even more importantly, it will enable us to look to 2022 with a
greater sense of optimism about the future,” Ms Taulelei concluded.
____________________________________________________________________
APEC Member
Economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong,
China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New
Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United
States of America; and Viet Nam.
ABAC was
created by APEC Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC.
Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective Leaders.
They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their
recommendations to the Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual
Leaders Meeting.
Under New Zealand’s
leadership, ABAC is pursuing a work program under the theme “People, Place and
Prosperity” to respond to the challenge of maintaining the economic vitality of
the Asia-Pacific Region and ensure it benefits all.
ABAC 2021 Chair is Rachel
Taulelei and the Co-Chairs are Dato Rohana Mahmood (Malaysia) and Supant Mongkolsuthree
(Thailand), with five (5) working group chairs, namely: Ho Meng Kit, Regional
Economic Integration Working Group (REIWG); Ning Gaoning, Sustainability
Working Group (SWG); Julia Torreblanca, Inclusion Working Group (IWG); Janet De
Silva, Digital Working Group (DWG); and Robert Milliner, Economy Working Group
(EWG).
For further information
please contact:
Mr. Stephen
Jacobi, ABAC
Executive Director 2021, Mobile: +64 29 472 5502, Email: stephen@jacobi.co.nz
Mr. Antonio
Basilio, Director, ABAC Secretariat, Mobile: + 63 917 849 3351, Email:
abacsec@pfgc.ph
