President Duterte
pitches for free, open trade in Asia-Pacific
Member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) should maintain free and fair trade to attain sustained economic recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said on Friday.
In his intervention during
the 2020 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, President Duterte recognized APEC’s
role in spurring economic growth and prosperity that has lifted millions of
people out of poverty in the Pacific Rim region.
Despite the current
hurdles being confronted by APEC members, the President said they should not be
discouraged and must recommit themselves to bolder and more concrete ways to
ensure the region’s economic vitality.
Through the APEC
Putrajaya Vision 2040, APEC members reaffirm their support for a free and
rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) as its vanguard.
“We 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,” the President said.
“We convey our deepest appreciation to the
eminent experts who crafted the recommendations for our new Vision,” he added,
noting the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 gives the economic bloc renewed
confidence in its collective effort to build better, healthier, and more
prosperous societies.
Recognizing the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the defining challenge of the present
generation, the President spelled out areas of cooperation for APEC member
economies.
APEC, he said, should
ensure the unimpeded flow of medical supplies and technologies, especially
COVID-19 vaccines. There’s a need to defeat the virus everywhere so
strengthening partnerships in vaccine development is necessary, he noted.
“There is no other way.
Let us resolve to act decisively on universal vaccine access and maximize these
mechanisms.”
President Duterte said
giving the public unfettered flow of information is also the key to effective
response and mitigation efforts.
In this regard, he
welcomed Malaysia’s initiative to establish the COVID-Live online portal aimed
at sharing best practices among member economies.
The APEC forum launched
Putrajaya Vision 2040 Friday, promising cooperation to build an open, resilient
and peaceful Asia-Pacific region.
In a statement about
Putrajaya Vision 2040, the economic grouping vowed to work together to achieve
a free, open, fair and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment.
The bloc also highlighted the need to pursue multilateralism to counter rising unilateralism and protectionism and has thrown its support to the WTO to deliver a well-functioning multilateral trading system. PND
