The ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states support the efforts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on further globalization, including the "rules-based" multilateral trading system, to facilitate the global post-pandemic economic recovery, the 2022 APEC joint ministerial statement said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2022) The ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member states support the efforts of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on further globalization, including the "rules-based" multilateral trading system, to facilitate the global post-pandemic economic recovery, the 2022 APEC joint ministerial statement said on Friday.
"We reaffirm the importance of and commit to upholding and further strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. We recognise the important role of the multilateral trading system to support economic recovery from global challenges, in particular through the facilitation of the movement of and access to food as well as essential goods and services related to the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement read.
The statement also said that the ministers recognize the importance of the global agricultural and food systems, "underpinned by WTO rules, bringing food, fibre, and other critical products to people all over the world."
"We remain committed to working together in the WTO to continue to support its necessary reform to improve all its functions, in order to ensure that it can better address existing and emerging global trade challenges," it added.
The 29th APEC summit is taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 18-19. The participating countries will discuss cooperation on revitalizing the economy of the region, which has been impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical instability. First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Andrey Belousov is leading the Russian delegation at the summit. The US delegation is led by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Chinese delegation by President Xi Jinping.
