US President Joe Biden on Friday participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Virtual Leaders' Meeting, where he advocated for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The meeting was hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
"During the meeting, President Biden underscored his commitment to strengthening our relationship with APEC economies in order to advance fair and open trade and investment, bolster American competitiveness, and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said in a statement.
The statement said that global Leaders discussed ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic and support the global economic recovery.
During his address, Biden noted that the US has donated and shipped more than 220 million vaccine doses so far, including 64 million to APEC economies, and pledged that we will continue to share doses, invest in manufacturing abroad, and work with APEC economies to build global health security.
Reaffirming US interest in serving as a reliable partner to APEC economies, Biden discussed ways to unleash the economic power of the region and to deepen US economic engagement throughout the Indo-Pacific.
"He articulated how we can work together to establish a common way forward for digital technologies in order to promote an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet, invest in robust cybersecurity, and develop digital economy standards that will position all of our economies for the future," the statement said.
Biden also spoke about how the climate crisis is also an enormous opportunity to create good jobs and that we must work together to move towards a sustainable future."The meeting builds on President Biden's ongoing engagements in the Indo-Pacific region, including the July APEC meeting, the October US-ASEAN and East Asia Summits, and other Leader-level engagements," the White House said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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