Singapore Highlights Reform Opportunities At APEC Economic Leaders Meeting

PM Lee Hsien Loong said that the upcoming meeting of the APEC Leaders will focus on the longer term issues as the countries emerge from the recession.

Nations could work together to foster growth in the region, specifically more balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth. They can also further enhance the economic integration of the Asia-Pacific region.

Opening Remarks By Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chair of the 17th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, at the media conference on APEC Leaders Week, on 3 November 2009

We are hosting the APEC Leaders meeting next week.

It is the first time we are hosting a leaders’ meeting although we hosted a meeting of APEC before it became elevated to the leaders’ level and we are proud to have the chance to do so now. This is the culmination of more than a hundred meetings which Singapore has hosted since we took over the chairmanship this year.

It is taking place at the pivotal moment in the global economy.  There are encouraging signs of recovery but economic outlook remains uncertain.

The short term measures to deal with the economic situation have been discussed at other forums.  We will be focusing on the longer term issues as we emerge from the recession – we will be discussing how to work together to foster growth in the region, specifically more balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth in the region and also how we can further the economic integration of the Asia-Pacific.

This meeting takes place after the G20 Summit in Pittsburg and it will be an opportunity for us to sustain the momentum for reform in the Asia-Pacific region which is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, critical to a stable global economy and make an important contribution to shaping solutions to the global problems.

The theme for the meeting will be “Sustaining Growth, Connecting the Region”.  When we talk about growth, we are talking about balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth. These are buzz words but they have specific meanings.

Balanced growth means dealing with reforms to reduce the savings and investment imbalances so that we can grow without leading to new problems in the future.

Inclusive growth means growth which can generate opportunities for the majority of our populations so that there will be support for the policies which make this prosperity possible – for free trade, for globalization, for better integration which benefits all of us.

And then sustainable growth because issues of climate change, issues of energy efficiency are on everybody’s minds now.  The Copenhagen Summit is going to take place soon after the APEC meetings.  APEC itself is primarily an economic forum but we will focus on economic and trade initiatives that are our centre of attention. And we will discuss how to promote energy efficiency and in particular reduce barriers to trade in environmental goods and services.

On connecting the region, we will be discussing how to advance APEC’s core mission which is to advance free trade and open markets in the Asia-Pacific. We will also be discussing improving connectivity in transport and logistics, as well as regulatory reforms to make it easier to do business across borders.

We have a long term vision when we talk about free trade in the Asia-Pacific, it is the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.  The idea is to consolidate the network of FTAs which has sprung up and to reduce the administrative complexities and overheads for businesses which want to do business all over the region and have to keep track of diverse and abstruse rules of origin.

But this is a long term ideal vision so we will discuss feasible steps towards this long term goal. We do not have solutions worked out before the Summit but the leaders come having thought about these problems and discussed them most recently in Pittsburg and the ASEAN leaders meeting in Thailand, and I look forward to a good discussion with them.

Topics: APEC, Asia, Asia Pacific region, economic development, economic growth, economic recovery, Economy, Governance, recession, Singapore, sustainable growth

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