APEC condemns terrorism

Manila declaration calls for global cooperation  

MANILA, Philippines - With terror attacks in Paris and Beirut and the downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt casting a shadow over their economic agenda, Asia-Pacific leaders concluded an annual summit in Manila yesterday with a strongly worded condemnation of terrorism and a call for greater cooperation in achieving growth and prosperity.

“We will not allow terrorism to threaten the fundamental values that underpin our free and open economies,” leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member-economies said in a declaration issued after their summit yesterday.

“Economic growth, prosperity and opportunity are among the most powerful tools to address the root causes of terrorism and radicalization. We stress the urgent need for increased international cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terrorism,” the leaders said in their joint declaration.

They said they recognized that their meetings in Manila were held “under the shadow cast by the terrorist attacks” and denounced “all acts, methods and practices of terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.”

The statement was a departure from convention for the APEC forum, which normally focuses on trade and business issues.

The APEC leaders’ last major statement against terrorism was in Shanghai in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The APEC bloc groups the United States and China with middle powers such as Australia and developing nations in Asia and South America. It accounts for about 60 percent of the global economy.

There was no mention of the maritime dispute between China and some Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, although the issue figured prominently in the pronouncements of US President Barack Obama, who held bilateral talks with President Aquino ahead of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. 

The US leader had discussed the need for “bold steps” to lower tensions in disputed waters.

Obama had also asked China to stop its massive land reclamation, construction activities and militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea, citing the impact of such actions on regional stability.

“We further encourage economies to implement fully the APEC Consolidated Counter-Terrorism and Secure Trade Strategy and to continue taking collective and individual actions and sharing best practices to secure infrastructure, travel, supply chains and financial systems from terrorist activities,” the declaration read.

The leaders said they were meeting at a time when global growth is uneven and continues to fall short of expectation. Risks and uncertainties remain in the global economy, with structural problems weighing on actual and potential growth.

“While APEC economies have remained resilient, they face challenges in boosting growth prospects.”

Despite unprecedented economic growth that has lifted millions of people out of poverty, the leaders acknowledged that poverty continues to be a reality for millions of others in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We call for more intensive efforts for its reduction and eradication. We also acknowledge that inequality acts as a brake on economic growth and that reducing it is essential to spurring development and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific,” the leaders said.

Address climate change

The leaders, in their declaration, also pointed out the need to address climate change and achieve inclusive growth. 

They vowed an “enduring commitment” to underwrite the peace, stability, development and common prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region.

The leaders cited the need to develop new drivers of growth, such as productivity-enhancing structural reform, services and trade in services, investment liberalization and facilitation, infrastructure investment, science, technology and innovation that would lead to more balanced and sustainable outcomes.

The leaders recognized the significance of enabling the full participation of all sectors and segments of society, especially women, youth, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, low-income groups, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), for economies to attain inclusive growth.

“We underscore the importance of empowering them with the ability to contribute to and benefit from future growth,” they said.

The leaders said they have adopted a strategy for growth and welcomed findings that more than 300 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the APEC region, mainly due to rapid growth in developing economies.

“We support further efforts in narrowing the development gap in order to end poverty,” they said.

The leaders also cited the progress made on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) initiative and affirmed the EoDB Action Plan (2016-2018) with a new target of 10-percent improvement by 2018 in the existing five priority areas – starting a business, dealing with construction permits, trading across borders, getting credit and enforcing contracts.

The leaders likewise affirmed their commitment to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which sets a comprehensive and universal framework for global development thrust for the next 15 years so that “no one is left behind in our efforts to eradicate poverty.”

“We reaffirm our commitment to open and accountable governance and to promoting international cooperation in the areas of repatriation or extradition of corrupt officials, asset recovery, criminalization and prevention of corruption among APEC member-economies,” the leaders said.

“We support the APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies in advancing pragmatic anti-corruption cooperation and welcome the Cebu Manifesto for the Protection of Anti-Corruption Officials,” they said.

Financial inclusion

They also discussed “financial inclusion” as millions of citizens still do not have access to reliable financial services, specifically to cheaper capital.

The leaders welcomed the Cebu Action Plan (CAP) and commended the finance ministers for their collaborative efforts in crafting a multi-year roadmap of “deliverables and initiatives” to build an Asia-Pacific community that is more financially integrated, transparent, resilient and connected.

The leaders also welcomed the APEC Iloilo Initiative: Growing Global MSMEs for Inclusive Development and expressed support for the creation of the APEC MSME Marketplace to provide opportunities for businesses and strengthen their collaboration with public and private organizations.

To build sustainable and disaster-resilient economies, the leaders recognized that the region, located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, is particularly vulnerable and exposed to disasters.

“We face typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, rising sea levels and pandemics, the impacts of which are magnified by our densely populated cities,” the leaders said.

“It has become a ‘new normal’ for us to face natural disasters of increasing frequency, magnitude and scope and their resulting disruption of the increasingly integrated and interlinked production and supply chains,” the leaders said.

They said they were adopting the APEC Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Framework to facilitate collective work in building adaptive and disaster-resilient economies supporting inclusive and sustainable development in the face of the “new normal.”

“Through the APEC DRR Framework, we will minimize the losses we endure and ensure that our communities have the support to overcome adversity and to build back better,” the leaders said.

They also instructed the ministers to craft an action plan in 2016 to set into motion the APEC DRR Framework and renew existing efforts such as business continuity planning, strengthening early warning systems, search and rescue, post-disaster recovery, promoting appropriate donations and enhancing capacity building.

“We welcome the APEC Principles for the Movement of Humanitarian Goods and Equipment during Emergencies to better protect lives and livelihoods. We also note the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030,” they said.

The leaders also said they were supporting further scientific studies to deal with emergencies, along with the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases. They welcomed the development of the Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020 Roadmap.

“In line with our goal to promote sustainable communities, we are firmly committed to achieving a fair, balanced, ambitious, durable and dynamic agreement on climate change at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December,” the leaders said.

“We therefore reaffirm our aspirational goals to reduce aggregate energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035 and double renewable energy in the regional energy mix by 2030 to achieve sustainable and resilient energy development within the Asia-Pacific,” they added.

APEC leaders also reaffirmed the bloc’s participation in the World Trade Organization.

“While achieving ongoing economic transformation will not be easy, we are confident that we will continue to drive regional and global economic prosperity through quality economic growth,” they said. Pia Lee-Brago, Prinz Magtulis