APEC Economic Leaders’ Week starts

MANILA, Philippines - The 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Week hosted by the Philippines in Manila has opened.

Under the theme “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World,” leaders, ministers and senior officials from APEC’s 21 member economies, the world’s largest regional economic group, will take new joint actions to boost trade and growth in the Pacific Rim while ensuring that the benefits are widely felt.

Priority areas of focus include enhancing regional economic integration; fostering micro, small and medium enterprise participation in regional and global markets; investing in human capital development; and building sustainable and resilient communities.

“APEC is not just a trade and investment facilitation forum; it also discusses development issues,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Economic Relations and 2015 APEC senior officials chair Laura del Rosario. 

She said the trade and investment aspects of the economy underpin the economic development but all recognize the importance of promoting a development agenda.

“The economy is made up of many moving parts and therefore we cannot just talk about one aspect and say that the other sectors or issues can wait. We have to make sure that all the systems are good and that we are really taking care of all the moving parts,” she added.

The week will culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov. 18-19 to be guided by President Aquino and will provide strategic vision and directives for future collaboration between APEC member economies.

It will be preceded by the APEC Ministerial Meeting co-chaired by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo on Nov. 16-17 and the APEC Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting on Nov. 13-14 to finalize new measures for lifting trade and growth, and deciding the contours of joint policy development and implementation.

APEC member economies together account for about three billion people, half of global trade, 60 per cent of total GDP and much of the world’s growth.

The region’s outlook will be assessed in the APEC Policy Support Unit’s latest Economic Trends Analysis and Trade Monitoring reports to be unveiled on Nov. 16.