APEC leaders to discuss trade agenda for the next decades

KUALA LUMPUR: Leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies will convene tomorrow to discuss on ways to restore growth and ensure smooth trade flows amid the world health crisis.

The 2020 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting, to be held virtually for the first time, will be chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The leaders are expected to adopt a Post-2020 Vision which contains enablers to drive economic growth in the next 20 years, replacing the Bogor Goals.

They will also review the Leaders’ Declaration that reflect Malaysia’s theme of 'Optimising Human Potential towards a Resilient Future of Shared Prosperity: Pivot, Prioritise, Progress’.

Other important agenda will be related to multilateralism as well as commitment towards free and open trade and investment.

Meanwhile, the APEC Business Advisory Council has called on the leaders to strengthen cooperation and support the multilateral trading system in the face of COVID-19.

The region’s economy is expected to contract by 2.5 per cent this year or equal to an output loss of US$1.8 trillion (US$1=RM4.11), according to the APEC Policy Support Unit.

By end of October, the number of COVID-19 cases in the region had reached more than 14 million, accounting for 32 per cent of global infections.

Muhyiddin in his opening speech at the APEC CEO Dialogues today, emphasised on the need for APEC to recommit to its core and enduring goal of free and open trade and investment in the region.

"This is integral to our efforts to rebuild our economies in the aftermath of the pandemic," he stressed.

Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali told Bernama recently that Malaysia has the responsibility of ensuring that a consensus would be reached.

“No regional proposal or endeavour could be finalised should even one of the (21 Pacific Rim) economies not agree, because the main principle is consensus, voluntary and non-binding.

“This principle was also used when Malaysia was leading the process of reaching a consensus in completing two important documents, Post-2020 Vision and APEC Leaders’ Declaration, this year,” he said.

Established in 1989, APEC economies account for 60 per cent of the world's gross domestic product and 48 per cent of global trade.

Malaysia is hosting the meeting for the second time after the first in 1998.

-- BERNAMA