BANGKOK, Thailand reaffirmed APEC 2022 priorities, under the theme “Open. Connect. Balance,” as the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting concluded yesterday.
The meeting, held in Phuket, with the participation of APEC senior officials and representatives from 21 member economies, was chaired by Thani Thongphakdi, permanent secretary for foreign affairs of Thailand, and APEC 2022 Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) chair.
Towards post-COVID-19 economic recovery, the meeting voiced strong support for Thailand’s host year priorities, including works on promoting balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth, while open trade and investment and advancing regional economic integration were placed as APEC’s core principles to reach the goal, according to a statement released by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“As we move forward from the health and economic crisis, we need to promote long-term growth that is resilient, inclusive, balanced and sustainable,” said Thani. “In this regard, there are opportunities to be derived from economic models like the bio-circular-green economy to place APEC on this desired growth trajectory.”
“Together, we hope to make APEC open to all opportunities, connected in all dimensions, and balanced in all aspects,” Thani said. “Our priority is to facilitate open trade and investment, and to advance regional economic integration, including the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific or FTAAP, in the post-COVID-19 context.”
“We also seek to restore safe and seamless cross-border travel in the immediate future, while enhancing business mobility in a more inclusive manner in the long term,” he said.
The first APEC SOM and related technical meetings will take place from Feb 8 to 27, 2022, in Pattaya, Thailand.
Source: Nam News Network