APEC member economies pledge to enhance cooperation

Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have pledged to boost their cooperation at the APEC Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM) held in Singapore on December 7.

Convened by Chile, the host of APEC 2019, the CSOM summarised achievements of APEC Chile year in 2019 and rolled out orientations for APEC’s operation in the time to come.

During the CSOM, Chile issued the 2019 APEC Host Economy Leader's Statement, which officially marks the end of the APEC Chile year.

The statement highlighted the achievements that APEC has made over the past 30 years since its establishment.

It also reiterated that APEC member economies are committed to promoting free and open trade and investment, strengthening multilateral cooperation and rules-based international trade, and continuously advancing cooperation on connectivity, digital economy, regional economic integration, and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

The statement welcomed the report on the Post-2020 Vision submitted by the APEC Vision Group and looks forward to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2020.

Chile’s representatives presented three roadmaps for collective action which are agreed to by APEC member economies in 2019 to address key issues for regional prosperity, including women's economic empowerment, marine debris, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing./.

VNA