Philippines commits to Putrajaya Vision 2040

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Philippines is committed to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Putrajaya Vision 2040 that foresees an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia Pacific region.

President Duterte stressed that the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 recognizes the pressing challenges of today and foresees those of the future, given the circumstances the world is now grappling with – the COVID-19, economic and health crises.

Duterte joined leaders of the 20 other economies in the virtual 2020 APEC Economic Leaders Summit held Thursday evening hosted by Malaysia.

The Philippines remains committed to APEC’s mission and its voluntary, non-binding and consensus-building principles in achieving the Vision.

“Through this Vision, we reaffirm our support for a free and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization as its vanguard,” Duterte said.

APEC economies include the Philippines, US, China, Russia, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

Duterte said the APEC participating economies commit to address the widening income inequalities between the countries.

“And we aim to empower ourselves to face the disruptive impact of a new globalization, driven by digitalization and innovation. We convey our deepest appreciation to the eminent experts who crafted the recommendations for our new Vision,” the President said.

Duterte said that the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 “gives us renewed confidence in our collective efforts and ability to build back better, healthier and more prosperous societies.”

“Let us join hands, as we have always done, to make this vision a reality,” he enjoined the other APEC leaders in the virtual summit that was also attended by US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The vision is seen to ensure that the Asia-Pacific remains the world’s most dynamic and interconnected regional economy, and its members acknowledging the importance of, and will continue to work together to deliver, a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment.

The APEC leaders likewise vowed they will promote seamless connectivity, resilient supply chains and responsible business conduct.

And to empower all the  people and businesses to participate and grow in an interconnected global economy, APEC will foster an enabling environment that is, among others, market-driven and supported by digital economy and innovation.

“We will pursue structural reforms and sound economic policies to promote innovation as well as improve productivity and dynamism. We will strengthen digital infrastructure, accelerate digital transformation, narrow the digital divide, as well as cooperate on facilitating the flow of data and strengthening consumer and business trust in digital transactions,” the Vision further said.

The APEC 2040 Putrajaya Vision also aims for a strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth to ensure that the Asia-Pacific region is resilient to shocks, crises, pandemics and other emergencies, as its member-economies will foster quality growth that brings palpable benefits and greater health and wellbeing to all, including MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), women and others with untapped economic potential.

“We will intensify inclusive human resource development as well as economic and technical cooperation to better equip our people with the skills and knowledge for the future. We will promote economic policies, cooperation and growth which support global efforts to comprehensively address all environmental challenges, including climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, for a sustainable planet,” the 2040 Putrajaya Vision further stressed.

And to maintain APEC’s unique position as the premier forum for regional economic cooperation as well as a modern, efficient and effective incubator of ideas, the regional grouping will embrace continuous improvement of APEC as an institution through good governance and stakeholder engagements.

“We will advance the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 with a spirit of equal partnership, shared responsibility, mutual respect, common interest and common benefit. We will achieve the Vision by 2040, with an appropriate implementation plan and review of its progress,” the APEC 2040 Vision said.