Bangkok, 16 November 2022 – The APEC
Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will deliver a strong message to APEC Leaders
later this week emphasizing the imperative for collective leadership and
decisive action to accelerate economic recovery and secure long-term prospects
for growth. This, as the world continues to grapple with a range of urgent and
interrelated challenges including the continuing pandemic, geopolitical
conflict, rising inflation, food and energy insecurity, the existential threat
of climate change and ongoing supply chain disruptions.
ABAC Members met in Bangkok from 13 to 16 November to
conclude a comprehensive year-long work program that drew inputs from business
and academia from across APEC. They will relay the resulting Report and
recommendations in addition to their urgent call for cooperation to Leaders at
the Dialogue on 18 November.
His Excellency Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Energy of Thailand, delivered the keynote address to
open the ABAC meeting, stressing the uncertain and gloomy outlook for the
global economy.
ABAC Chair Mr. Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai
Industries, said that the current context means that the Dialogue – the first
to take place in-person Dialogue since 2018 – comes at a critical time.
“We will impress on Leaders that these challenges demand
both leadership and decisive action from APEC economies. We, in the business
community, are eager to contribute, collaborate and advance recovery to secure
future growth,” the Chair added.
“ABAC has proposed a range of actions to deepen economic
integration, including supporting a stronger and more relevant WTO and
accelerating the journey towards the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific
through a structured work programme that would deliver tangible benefits for
businesses in the short to medium term.
“We are also seeking to integrate sustainability
including the climate response across APEC’s growth agenda, including through
practical actions such as enabling trade in environmental goods and services,
and a new framework for trade and investment in renewable energy. We think
business can play a fundamental role in helping to develop innovative ideas on
climate change, supporting the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and low
carbon economy for future generations, and supporting the Bio Circular Green
Economy Model (BCG).”
“It is also critical that we enable the digital economy
and promote digital transformation for resilience and growth, especially for
MSMEs. This year, ABAC delivered on
cybersecurity, digital identities, data sharing, digital trade facilitation,
health-tech and infrastructure with immediately actionable
recommendations. We also commissioned an
important report from the USC Marshall School of Business on ‘The New MSME
Economy: Post-Pandemic Drivers for Growth’, which similarly highlights the
importance of digital capability.”
“These actions are all fundamental to enabling a
seamless, dynamic, resilient, and sustainable region – and a place where
everyone including disadvantaged and under-served groups can enjoy the benefits
and opportunities offered by deeper regional economic integration”, he
continued.
ABAC also approved its work program for 2023 around the
theme of “Equity. Sustainability. Opportunity”.
Incoming ABAC Chair for 2023 Dominic Ng of ABAC USA, noted “In formulating our work program, we were
guided by three principles. First, we need to ensure that ABAC’s
work considers the circumstances of people in our region. They should have a
stake in - and benefit from - the work of APEC. Second, ABAC should focus on policies that advance economic growth in balance with the
environment and
maximize the private sector’s potential to address climate change. Finally, we should promote policies that expand economic opportunity by increasing
access to training, technology, capital, and other tools that enable people to
contribute to the growth of our region.”
The ABAC Dialogue with Leaders takes place immediately
after the APEC CEO Summit, and builds on engagement during the year between
ABAC and APEC Ministers of Trade and of Finance, and participation in high
level meetings and sectoral ministerial meetings including on Food Security,
Women and the Economy, SME and Tourism.
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Thailand’s
leadership, ABAC is pursuing a work program under the theme “Embrace. Engage.
Enable” to respond to the challenge of maintaining the economic vitality of the
Asia-Pacific Region and ensure it benefits all.
ABAC 2022 Chair is Kriengkrai Thiennukul (Thailand) and the Co-Chairs are Rachel Taulelei (New Zealand) and Dominic Ng (USA), with five (5) working group chairs, namely: Lam Yi Young, Regional Economic Integration Working Group (REIWG); Janet De Silva, Digital Working Group (DWG); Dato Rohana Mahmood, MSME and Inclusiveness Working Group (MSMEWG); Ning Gaoning, Sustainability Working Group (SWG); and Hiroshi Nakaso, Finance and Economics Working Group (FEWG).
For further
information please contact:
Mr. Montri
Mahaplerkpong, ABAC Executive Director 2022
Mobile: +66 81 830 1346 Email:
marty@scg.com
Mr. Antonio Basilio, Director, ABAC Secretariat Tel: +63 917 849 3351 Email: abacsec@pfgc.ph
