5 June 2021 – Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali will lead the Malaysian delegation at the 27th APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting scheduled tonight, which will be the first ministerial meeting to be hosted by New Zealand in its capacity as host of APEC 2021. The meeting will be chaired by The Honourable Damien O’Connor, Minister of Trade and Export Growth, New Zealand.
According to MITI in a statement issued today, Trade Ministers from 21 APEC economies are expected to participate in the meeting.
“As part of MRT tradition, the newly appointed Director General (DG) of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will also be present to provide the MRT with the latest development on global trade as well as the on-going work at the WTO.
For APEC 2021, New Zealand has chosen the theme “Haumi ē, Hui ē, Tāiki ē; Join. Work. Grow. Together”, reflecting that there has never been a more important time for economies in the Asia-Pacific to join together and rebuild the region.” said MITI.
Key priorities for APEC 2021 are:
- Priority 1: Economic and Trade Policies that Strengthen Recovery;
- Priority 2: Increasing Inclusion and Sustainability for Recovery; and
- Priority 3: Pursuing Innovation and a Digitally-Enabled Recovery.
“The 27th MRT Meeting will focus on the role trade can play in defeating COVID-19, and the importance of maintaining an open trade in recovering from the economic crisis. Ministers are expected to exchange views on how trade policies could facilitate and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, as well as collective effort that can be undertaken by APEC to support global economic recovery.
In support of the upcoming 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) to be held later this year, the MRT Meeting will also deliberate on the way forward in building the momentum towards concrete and tangible outcome at the MC12. In this regard, the WTO DG is anticipated to share her views on the global outlook for 2021 and the expectations for the MC12.” said MITI.
In the meeting, Azmin is expected to share Malaysia’s views in optimising policy tools that APEC could utilise and to encourage APEC economies to continue to act collectively in ensuring uninterrupted flow of trade and services during these trying times, including in the area of equitable access to vaccines and ensuring the sustainability of their supply chain.
“The APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, a long-term aspiration document that was architectured by Malaysia and successfully launched by APEC Leaders in 2020, will feature prominently in the discussion, where YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali will assure Malaysia’s full support in advancing the work of APEC in accomplishing APEC 2021 key deliverable that is the comprehensive implementation plan for the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.
The 27th MRT Meeting is also expected to build on the momentum created last year under the chairmanship of YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, where the Ministers adopted two consensus documents namely the MRT Statement on COVID-19 and MRT Virtual Meeting Joint Statement 2020. This year, New Zealand has also put high expectations in delivering a consensus MRT Joint Statement, which is expected to be adopted by Ministers at the end of the MRT Meeting.” added MITI.
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