Joe Biden, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin shared virtual meeting with Latin American presidents of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum

The leaders of the 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) highlighted the essential role of trade and investment, as well as of an interconnected regional economy, in enabling a strong economic recovery and coping with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We recognize the importance of a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable business and investment environment that can help combat the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “, read the statement from the emergency APEC meeting convened by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

“We will only overcome this health emergency accelerate equitable access to safe, effective, quality-assured and affordable COVID-19 vaccines“, We read in the press release.

“We recognize the role of mass vaccination against COVID-19 as a global public good. To this end, we will redouble our efforts to expand vaccine manufacturing and supply, support global vaccine exchange efforts, and encourage the voluntary transfer of production technologies on mutually agreed terms. “added.

In this sense, Ardern affirmed in the press conference after the meeting that the countries of the region have the possibility of “To emerge from this crisis in a more inclusive, sustainable and adaptable way than ever” and stressed that to achieve this goal, cooperation is essential.

The Prime Minister recalled the importance of “Keep the markets open” and pointed out that the meeting had helped them “Overcome Vaccine Nationalism” to Accelerate Their Circulation Across Borders and Contribute to the Global Immunization Effort.

In addition, leaders in the region agreed to work on a program of structural reforms that boost productivity, innovation and digitization to ensure future growth.

This virtual meeting, during which the presidents of China and the United States met for the first time, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, was summoned urgently to treat The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the sharpest contraction in APEC economies since World War II, in addition to the loss of 81 million jobs.

The coronavirus, with 50 million infected and one million dead among the 2,900 million inhabitants living in the territory covered by APEC, caused a joint decline in gross domestic product of 1.9% last year, according to data from the bloc.

The APEC Forum, founded in 1989, is made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, United States, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

(With information from EFE)

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