APEC Leaders looking beyond economic recovery

Singapore, 15 November 2009 - Looking beyond recovery, say Leaders of 21 APEC economies, demands "a new growth paradigm and an expanded trade and investment agenda that will strengthen regional economic integration (REI) in the Asia-Pacific region."

Supporting balanced growth

"We support the goals of the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth." We join in their commitment to:

• Work together to ensure that our macroeconomic, regulatory and structural policies are collectively consistent with more sustainable and balanced trajectories of growth."

• Undertake macro prudential and regulatory policies to help prevent credit and asset price cycles from becoming forces of destabilisation."

• Promote development and poverty reduction as part of the rebalancing of global growth."

Fostering inclusive growth

"...we will undertake structural adjustments that will enhance opportunities for all segments of our societies to benefit from growth."

Priority areas will include small and medium enterprises (SMEs); mobility of workers; and enhancing women's access to education, training, financing, technology and infrastructure.

"We will design social safety nets that provide short-term economic security but avoid long-term dependency."

Promoting sustainable growth

"We will ensure that economic growth in our region is consistent with sustainable development. Anthropogenic climate change is one of the biggest global challenges. It will impact each of our economies."

"A key thrust in APEC's sustainable growth agenda is the APEC Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) Work Programme, under which we will develop and implement a set of concrete actions to support sustainable growth in the region, advance work to increase utilisation and dissemination of EGS, reduce existing barriers and refrain from introducing new barriers to trade and investment in EGS, and enhance capabilities of economies to develop their EGS sectors. We also commit to rationalise and phase out over the medium term fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognising the importance of providing those in need with essential energy services."

Resisting protectionism

"We reaffirm our commitment to keep markets open and refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services and instruct our Ministers to continue to regularly review our adherence to these commitments."

Supporting the multilateral trading system

"...the most effective means of dealing with protectionist pressures and delivering a global stimulus package to sustain and secure our recovery is an ambitious and balanced conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in 2010... We are ready to exercise pragmatism and all possible flexibility and utilise all possible avenues in order to accelerate the pace of negotiations to secure convergence on a final package. We instruct our Ministers to work closely on what needs to be done to bring the DDA to a successful conclusion and to assess the situation no later than in early 2010."

Accelerating regional economic integration
"We direct Ministers and officials to report to us next year with a meaningful assessment of the industrialised APEC economies' achievement of the Bogor Goals.

"We will continue to explore building blocks towards a possible Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) in the future."

To view the complete Statement from the 17th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Singapore, 14 - 15 November, 2009, Sustaining Growth, Connecting the Region, go to:
http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/Leaders-Declarations/2009/2009_aelm.aspx