Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit fully adopted the Bali G20 Leaders’ Declaration.
“The Leaders’ Declaration at the APEC forum fully adopted the Bali G20 Leaders’ Declaration formula, word by word,” Hartarto said in a statement here on Sunday.
He noted that the discussion to reach an agreement for the Leaders’ Declaration at the APEC forum was tough, and in the end, all parties agreed to refer to the Bali G20 Leaders’ Declaration.
This is supported by the back-to-back implementation of these two important world forums, and the declaration that was initiated in Bali which has received approval from 20 member states of G20. Hence, the version was fully adopted at the APEC Forum, Hartarto added.
In the APEC Leaders’ Declaration, APEC economic leaders agree on a joint commitment to respond to common challenges, among others, to support the reform of the multilateral trading system in order to face various developmental challenges that have arisen, and to strengthen commitment to address supply chain disruption .
They also agreed to promote strong, balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth, including supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, the minister remarked.
“This APEC forum also encouraged multilateralism and supports the results of The WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) to encourage WTO as a platform in the Asia Pacific to equalize trade law rules, because APEC is 60 percent of the world economy or the equivalent of US$59 trillion,” he said.
Furthermore, APEC economic leaders also encouraged cooperation to connect the digital gap through infrastructure facilitation, as well as increasing expertise and digital literacy and strengthening the agricultural sector to support regional food security.
In the digital field, APEC supported empowerment starting from empowering women and youth, to promoting equality and inclusiveness of MSMEs.
Indonesia also supported the digitization of MSMEs to become part of the global supply chain, Hartarto disclosed.
He stated that this year’s APEC forum was also pushing for sustainable goods and services, which will be brought under the leadership of the United States next year.
Meanwhile, the 2022 APEC Summit also succeeded in agreeing on The Bangkok Goals for the Bio-Circular Green Economy, which is a joint approach to post-pandemic economic recovery that is inclusive and balanced in order to achieve more resilient economic growth and protect the environment.
“Almost all the discussions at APEC have a common thread with those discussed at the G20. One of the strongest common links among ASEAN, G20, and APEC is togetherness. Together, we will be strong and successful in recovering the global economy,” he concluded.
Source: Antara News