Strategic Opportunities for APEC

Beppu, Japan, 7 August 2010 - "APEC is faced with a strategic window of opportunity to maximise its leverage on the global economy after the recent global financial crisis," says Dr. Hank Lim* in his address to a public Symposium held in Beppu, Japan on 7 August 2010.

Lim notes that APEC member economies account for nine out of the 20 countries that make up the G-20 and declares that APEC should therefore, "leverage its weight by having a long-term vision and short-term policy objectives".

A role for APEC is also laid out in reinforcing the work of other regional organisations such as the ASEAN Plus Three and the East Asia Summit, particularly in the areas of climate change, sustainable growth, secure growth and emergency preparedness. Lim does not see the range of alternative regional fora as competing for primacy, but rather considers them a "concentric modality" that together can contribute to regional and global prosperity.

APEC's comparative advantage however, according to Lim, lies in the creation of "regional public goods which are in very short supply relative to their demand by less developed member economies". In particular he refers to APEC's role in the development and implementation of policies on: economic, technical and trade facilitation; standardisation and harmonisation of rules and regulations; and logistics connectivity.

To listen to Dr Lim's recommendations click here. 

To read the full presentation click here.

*Dr. Hank Lim is the Chairperson of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Academic Advisory Council and a Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. The public Symposium was organised by the Oita Prefecture to precede the APEC Growth Strategy High-Level Policy Roundtable held on 7-8 August 2010 in Beppu, Japan.