0
0
Read Time:10 Minute, 45 Second
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, 2022 APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration
The Russia, 20 November 2022
Following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, 2022 APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration and Bangkok Goals on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy were adopted.
- We, the Economic Leaders of APEC, met in-person for the first time in four years in
Bangkok on 18-19 November 2022. We continue the implementation of the APEC
Putrajaya Vision 2040, including through the Aotearoa Plan of Action. This year, under
the APEC theme “Open. Connect. Balance.”, we advance work through three priorities:
to be open to all opportunities, connected in all dimensions, and balanced in all aspects,
to advance long-term robust, innovative and inclusive economic growth as well as
sustainability objectives in the Asia-Pacific region. - We have been intensifying our efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and
mitigating its impact on our people and economies to promote health and wellbeing, as
well as improving the overall standard of living for all. - This year, we have also witnessed the war in Ukraine further adversely impact the global
economy. There was a discussion on the issue. We reiterated our positions as expressed
in other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, which,
in Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote (141 votes
for, 5 against, 35 abstentions, 12 absent) deplores in the strongest terms the aggression
by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional
withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine. Most members strongly condemned the war
in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing
fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting
supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability
risks. There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions.
Recognising that APEC is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that
security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy. - We reaffirm our commitment to realise the APEC Putrajaya Vision of an open, dynamic,
resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our
people and future generations. We will continue to promote efforts to strengthen APEC’s
leadership and standing as the premier economic forum of the Asia-Pacific, as well as a
modern, efficient and effective incubator of ideas. APEC’s cooperation will contribute
to practical solutions for common challenges and complement global efforts including
the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To that end, we resolve to build
momentum of the work carried out in 2022 and coordinate our APEC-wide actions on
sustainability through the Bangkok Goals on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy. - Trade and investment play a critical and indispensable role in enhancing the prosperity
of our people by assisting with global challenges and can open up opportunities that
offer tangible benefits. We underscore the importance of international trade and the
World Trade Organization (WTO) in facilitating global economic recovery, growth,
prosperity, alleviation of poverty, the welfare of all people, sustainable development,
and facilitating cooperation in relation to the protection and conservation of the
- 2 –
environment. We reaffirm our determination to deliver a free, open, fair, nondiscriminatory, transparent, inclusive and predictable trade and investment environment.
We will continue to work to ensure a level playing field to foster a favourable trade and
investment environment and reaffirm our commitment to keep markets open and to
address supply chain disruptions.
- We welcome the successful outcomes of the Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference
(MC12) and are determined to uphold and further strengthen the rules-based multilateral
trading system, with the WTO at its core. We look forward to the early and effective
implementation of the MC12 outcomes. We will cooperate in the WTO to continue to
support its necessary reform to improve all its functions, in order to ensure that it can
better address existing and emerging global trade challenges. We commit to working
together with a view to achieving meaningful progress by the Thirteenth WTO
Ministerial Conference. - Recognising the useful contributions of the Lima Declaration and the Beijing Roadmap
on progressing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda, we welcome
the advancement of this agenda this year through a refreshed conversation on the
FTAAP in the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We will continue to build on this
momentum towards high quality and comprehensive regional undertakings through the
FTAAP Agenda Work Plan. We task officials to report progress in carrying out the Work
Plan to the AMM in the following years. At the same time, we will further strengthen
our engagement with stakeholders, including the APEC Business Advisory Council
(ABAC) and increase public-private sector dialogues. We note with appreciation of
ABAC’s recommendations in advancing the FTAAP Work Programs. We commend the
public and private sector collaboration between the Ministers Responsible for Trade
(MRT) and ABAC, which underscores APEC’s emphasis on advancing an inclusive
economic development. We will also continue our efforts in capacity building to
improve trade negotiation skills of economies. - In order to achieve post-COVID-19 economic recovery, it is our priority to drive growthfocused structural reform that is designed to be inclusive, sustainable, and innovationfriendly. This includes fostering an enabling environment for businesses of all types,
particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups, and
collaborating to improve opportunities for them to be competitive, specialised,
innovative, and expand into the international markets. We reaffirm our commitment to
the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR) and endeavour to make
collective and individual progress, including on the ease of doing business. - Furthermore, we recognise the urgency of enhancing the competitiveness of the services
sector, especially travel, transport, and other services that have been hit hardest by the
COVID-19 pandemic. We reiterate our commitment to accelerate work in response to
the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap (ASCR) Mid-Term Review, with the aim
to fully implement the ASCR by 2025. By increasing APEC’s global share of trade in
services, we will be able to inject dynamism in our economy and underpin APEC’s
position as the world’s growth engine.
- 3 –
- Macroeconomic and structural policies are vital to tackling rising inflation, ushering in
sustained economic recovery, and raising living standards in the region. We reaffirm the
importance of sustainable financing, capacity building, and technical assistance for
innovation and growth as well as for addressing all environmental challenges, including
climate change. We will continue to advance digital tools to facilitate economic
activities and the provision of public services, including the delivery of assistance and
stimulus packages to the people, and to drive financial inclusion. - We commend APEC’s work on safe passage, including under the Safe Passage
Taskforce. We will further our cooperation to promote safe and seamless cross-border
travel within our region as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, including for
essential workforces, including air and maritime crew, as well as improve infrastructure
and tools, such as the interoperability of vaccination certificates and ensuring the APEC
Business Travel Card (ABTC) is inclusive. - We reaffirm our commitment to enhance an open and interconnected Asia-Pacific
region, including through the implementation of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint
(2015-2025). We will strengthen physical, institutional and people-to-people
connectivity as well as take advantage of digital connectivity, and will intensify efforts
to promote regional, sub-regional and remote area connectivity through quality
infrastructure development and investment. We will promote regenerative tourism that
is sustainable, inclusive and resilient, and to connect the entire tourism eco-system. We
support efforts to foster open, secure and resilient supply chains, enhance supply chain
connectivity and minimise supply chain disruptions. We encourage economies to
continue efforts to remove barriers to logistics-related services. We welcome the
endorsement of Phase Three of the Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan
by the APEC Ministers. - Digital technology and innovation have a greater role to play in advancing inclusive and
sustainable growth, improving access to services as well as opportunities to generate
income and better the livelihoods of our people, including by encouraging the transition
of economic actors from the informal to the formal economy. We will deepen
cooperation to bridge digital divides between and within economies, including on
facilitating access to digital infrastructure and supporting development of digital skills
and digital literacy. We will cooperate on facilitating the flow of data, and strengthening
business and consumer trust in digital transactions. - We recognise the power of digital transformation in facilitating and reducing barriers to
trade and unlocking exponential growth, including through nurturing the interoperability
of digital systems and tools across the region. We encourage APEC to incubate more
cutting-edge and comprehensive cooperation initiatives on digital economy. We will,
therefore, accelerate the implementation of the APEC Internet and Digital Economy
Roadmap (AIDER) to harness new and emerging technologies and the full potential of
our society as well as create an enabling, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory
digital ecosystem for businesses and consumers.
- 4 –
- We affirm our commitment to promote strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and
inclusive growth. We recognise that more intensive efforts are needed to address today’s
challenges, including climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, food
security, and sustainable energy transitions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while
ensuring energy resilience, access and security in the region, including by facilitating
investments in relevant activities. We recall our commitment to rationalise and phase
out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while
recognising the importance of providing those in need with essential energy services. To
reach this goal, we will continue our efforts in an accelerated manner. We will also
continue to take concrete steps to implement the APEC Roadmap on Combatting Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and the APEC Roadmap on Marine Debris.
To this end, we will expedite efforts to promote economic policies, cooperation and
growth which support global actions to comprehensively address all environmental
challenges and call for deepened collaboration with stakeholders to make substantive
progress. - We endorse the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy as a
comprehensive framework to further APEC’s sustainability objectives. We will advance
the Bangkok Goals in a bold, responsive and comprehensive manner, building upon
existing commitments and workstreams as well as considering new aspirational ones.
We also welcome the launch of the APEC BCG Award this year to recognise the
achievements of sustainability in the region. - We continue to mobilise our resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforce
our systems to prevent and prepare for, and respond to future health threats. We are
determined to ensure extensive immunisation of our people against COVID-19 as a
global public good. It is imperative that we further strengthen the public health
workforce, acknowledging their tremendous contributions to protecting our people’s
lives and safeguarding their health. We should continue our efforts to improve digital
solutions and access to health services, and strengthen health systems with a view to
achieving universal health coverage. - We pledge to expedite and intensify our work to promote agricultural development,
including in rural areas, and promote long-term food security by ensuring our
agricultural and food systems are more resilient, productive, innovative and sustainable,
strengthening global food supply chains, and reducing food loss and waste. We also
reaffirm our commitment to work towards the sustainable resource management of
agriculture, forestry and marine resources and fisheries. We welcome the
Implementation Plan of the Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030 as a pathway to
achieve sufficient, safe, nutritious, accessible and affordable food for all.
- 5 –
- Recognising that long-term economic growth can only be achieved through realising the
full potential of our society, we welcome the continued efforts to use a gender
mainstreaming approach in relevant APEC processes and accelerate the full
implementation of the La Serena Roadmap for Women and Inclusive Growth (2019 –
2030). We are committed to building an environment where all, including MSMEs and
women, are empowered to access economic opportunities and contribute to and benefit
from our economy. Building on these initiatives, we encourage further efforts to expand
APEC’s work with other groups with untapped economic potential, such as Indigenous
Peoples as appropriate, people with disabilities, and those from remote and rural
communities, while also promoting the role of youth in advancing inclusive and
sustainable economic growth. We will place a special emphasis on human resource
development, particularly access to resources, reskilling, upskilling, lifelong learning,
and other support, to advance employment and decent work for all as well as enable our
workforce to participate and lead in the digital and green economies. - Recognising the detrimental impact of corruption on economic growth and development,
we are committed to taking practical actions and a united approach, to jointly fight crossborder corruption and deny safe haven to corruption offenders and their illicit assets. - We reiterate our commitment to expedite the realisation of the APEC Putrajaya Vision
2040, including through the Aotearoa Plan of Action. In this endeavour, we will improve
APEC’s governance and organisational structure, with a view to efficiently and
effectively delivering upon all elements of the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 and deepen
engagement with stakeholders, including the ABAC, and international and regional
organisations. - We welcome the outcomes of the 2022 APEC Ministerial Meeting as well as the 2022
Sectoral Ministerial Meetings for Trade, Tourism, Health, Forestry, Food Security,
Women and the Economy, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Finance. - We thank Thailand for hosting APEC in 2022, and we look forward to APEC 2023,
which will be hosted by the United States of America. We also welcome Peru and the
Republic of Korea as hosts of APEC 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
Advertisements
