KUALA LUMPUR:Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today called on Asia-Pacific leaders to work constructively towards navigating the region along a path of robust, inclusive and sustainable economic recovery and growth.

He said Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) whose economies constitute about 60 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) assumes a central role in spearheading post-pandemic economic recovery.

"We need to trade and invest our way out of the current economic downturn," he said in his opening remarks at the first-ever fully virtual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM).

While highlighting the importance of unity, Muhyiddin also urged leaders to fend off distractions and concentrate on pursuing regional solutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Today, as we work together as a region to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the relevance of APEC has become even more pronounced.

"We have to stand united in combating COVID-19, and it is therefore of utmost importance that people around the world have access to the vaccines and health technologies in an affordable, accessible and equitable basis," he said.

Muhyiddin, who is the chair of this year's meeting, views APEC as an incubator-cum-enabler that provides the right framework for implementing economic ideas on a voluntary, non-binding and consensus basis.

e noticed that member economies have often pursued new and novel concepts within this platform, even when there was reluctance and hesitation to do the same at other multilateral fora.

-- BERNAMA