WELLINGTON, Jun 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) – APEC trade ministers committed to speeding up the cross-border flow of vaccines and related goods, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pledge came, following the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, chaired by New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor, yesterday.
“As we face the biggest health and economic crisis of our lifetimes, I was greatly heartened to see how we united to make progress. We represent half of the global GDP and wanted to use trade as a force for good,” O’Connor said in a statement.
“We know, nobody is safe until everybody is safe from COVID-19, and we know that our region prospers economically by keeping our markets open to one another, rather than closing ourselves off.”
He said, the APEC trade ministers agreed to speed up the flow of vaccines and vaccine-related goods by eliminating trade restrictions that increase the cost of vaccines and the goods that support them.
They also agreed to a set guidelines for the customs authorities, to ensure quick vaccines flow, and to remove barriers to freight and logistics services, to support trade in vaccines and related goods.
“It is encouraging to see APEC trade ministers working together to respond in practical, concrete terms to the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild our economies,” he said.
China’s Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, said, at the joint virtual press conference that, China continued to further open up to the outside world amid the pandemic.
He said, efforts have been made by China on broadening market access, optimising business environment, enhancing the level of customs clearance facilitation, and shortening the time of customs clearance.
China is willing to work with all APEC members and send positive signals to the international community that, the Asia-Pacific region is working together to fight COVID-19, keep the regional industrial chain supply stable, and promote the regional economic recovery.
China will also speed up the fostering of a new development paradigm, promote the opening up to a higher level, and create more opportunities for global and regional development.
New Zealand is hosting APEC 2021 with more than 300 meetings scheduled across the country.
APEC is a regional economic forum, established in 1989, to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region. APEC’s 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region, by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.– NNN-AGENCIES
