Business council adds three urgent items to Apec leaders’ agenda
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has urged Apec leaders to develop a plan to address three urgent economic issues: inflation, food and energy security, and climate change.
The request has been abruptly added to their five key recommendations to accelerate economic recovery in the aftermath of Covid-19.
ABAC chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul said at a press conference on Wednesday that the three sudden requests arose from worries of business leaders in the Asia Pacific region.
"We are concerned about the impact of inflation, which we believe will slow the recovery. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions have a significant impact on energy and food security, and weather variability caused by climate change poses a significant risk to our economic sustainability," Kriengkrai noted.
He expected Apec leaders to give these urgent items on the agenda serious thought and develop some policies to help mitigate the negative effects.
After four major meetings held throughout the year in Singapore, Canada, Vietnam and Thailand, the meeting finalised five key recommendations with 69 sub-clauses under two objectives, "Promoting speedy and sustained recovery" and "Regaining momentum for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth", according to Kriengkrai.
"The latter includes advancing towards sustainability, deepening regional economic integration, and fostering an enabling environment through digitalisation. The working group will then deliver the complete report to Apec leaders,” he noted.
ABAC is also the host and chair of “Apec CEO Summit 2022”, which will be held from November 16-18 under the theme "Embrace, Engage, Enable".
This summit brings together economic leaders, thought leaders, and leading CEOs to discuss trade perspectives, investments, and the social drive that will allow the Asia-Pacific region to embrace opportunity, engage in collaboration and enable new possibilities in partnership with the private sector.
Dominique Ng, the next ABAC and Apec CEO Summit chairman of the United States, was also honoured at the press conference.
He praised Thailand and the working group for working tirelessly to find a solution to the current challenges, notably how to support micro, small, and medium enterprises, which account for more than 90% of the Apec region's economic activities.
He also revealed that the next ABAC’s theme would be: “Equity, Sustainability, and Opportunity”, which will be implemented in 2023.
He pledged to continue promoting the role of the private sector for the benefit of the people, ensuring economic growth while remaining environmentally conscious, and implementing concrete policies that provide inclusive opportunity.
