The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member-economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies, and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
The hosting of the annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, attended by the heads of governments of all APEC members, rotates among the member- economies, and a famous tradition involves the dressing up of the heads of states in the national costume of the host country.
This year in Manila, Philippines, fashion designer Paul Cabral designed the special barong for the 21 economic leaders and their spouses. Cabral is President Aquino’s couturier.
Under the Philippines’ chairmanship, discussions include trade and investment, the unique relationship between trade and development, ways to achieve quality economic growth through good governance measures.
A Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth is being put forward that embeds the principles of institution building, social cohesion/equity, concern for environmental impact of economic/industrial activities as new dimensions with which growth should be pursued.
It underscores how quality growth is about the economic well-being of every individual and of every economy, focusing on how it can be sustained over the medium- to long-term, to ensure the principles of good governance, transparency, and inclusion in their individual economic pursuits.
This document serves as a strategic guide for APEC as an institution and as individual economies in strengthening quality growth through agreed initiatives that could be pursued collectively or unilaterally for the next five years: health, access to quality education, skills training, mobility, MSME’s access to capital, and preparedness for and resilience to disasters such as by adopting set principles for the movement of humanitarian goods during disasters.
The Framework also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals of Member-countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong-China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam.
Leaders are expected to endorse the APEC Services Cooperation Framework as a long-term strategic document, to provide a common direction and more coherence, and help economies gain a deeper understanding of the policy and regulatory settings that will best facilitate innovative, productive, and vibrant services sectors, appropriate to their needs.
It recognizes that more competitive services sectors help create jobs, produce quality goods, widen choices for consumers, and harness opportunities for businesses – micro, small, and medium enterprises, actions to address the income disparity, access to food and water, disruptive and abrupt technological shifts, changing demographics, problems of uncontrolled urbanization, pandemics, disaster risks, and climate change.
As a University Town on the local level, training and education programs should be able to prepare the workforce for the challenges of the 21st century as APEC advocates cross-border education, inter-university collaboration on science and technology, and the international mobility of academics, researchers, and students.
APEC also calls on the economies to put science, technology, and innovation, as well as higher education, at the forefront of economic policy-making and strategic planning.
Are we ready for APEC 2015?
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