Wellington, Nov 9 New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor on Tuesday expressed support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and vowed to promote the trade-led economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
O'Connor made the remarks in his opening speech while chairing the 2021 APEC Ministerial Meeting, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies are meeting virtually Monday and Tuesday to accelerate the region's economic recovery through innovative trade policy and multilateral cooperation.
The 2021 APEC Ministerial Meeting was co-chaired by O'Connor and New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
Policy recommendations will be shared by representatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council and APEC's official observers the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, and the Pacific Island Forum.
"Together, we have worked tirelessly over the past year to deliver a diverse range of meaningful outcomes, notably in speeding up the movement of vaccine supplies and other essential goods across borders," O'Connor said when he welcomed the ministers at the meeting.
"Progress on APEC's ambitious agenda this year shows how our collective determination can overcome the challenges during the pandemic," O'Connor said. "And this momentum must not stop."
The meeting precedes the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday and the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC12).
"Today's meeting will provide an important opportunity to build momentum and seek consensus ahead of MC12."
"APEC's support for the WTO is an area of which we all agreed this year. Our goal is to intensify regional cooperation to support the WTO's agenda at its upcoming conference as a way of driving a trade-led recovery from the pandemic," added O'Connor.
"This approach benefits all. Free, fair and open trade will get us all through the pandemic. We all agree that trade is vital in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic and it will be the driver of growth and a force for good for our future prosperity."
"In this spirit, we must continue to work together to ensure that our trade and investment environment is free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable to benefit all of our people," he added.
"This year, APEC is at a turning point in its history. We, as Ministers, have the opportunity to set a course for APEC for the next two decades."
The 2021 APEC Ministerial Meeting will conclude on Tuesday night.
APEC member economies together account for about 3 billion people, 50 per cent of global trade and 60 percent of the world's total gross domestic product.
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