Hanoi (VNA) – The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) underscored the need for joint efforts to seek coherent and timely solutions to complex global challenges at its third virtual meeting of the year held on August 3.

Addressing the event, Rachel Taulelei, president of ABAC 2021, said the board has finalized its annual letter and report to APEC economic leaders.

“Our key message to leaders is that a prosperous, peaceful and resilient future will only be possible through our collective efforts. The challenges we face are profound, but they are also shared, ”Taulelei said.

The pandemic is the most pressing problem, but we also have to deal with climate change, faltering economic growth and digital disruption. Being alone and withdrawing is not the right strategy in a deeply interconnected world, she added.

Taulelei explained that the council made a wide range of recommendations in its report, reflecting the range of complex issues facing the region.

She stressed that the top priority at the moment is to unite to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the need to accelerate vaccination and ensure equitable and universal vaccination by promoting the free trade in vaccines and medical supplies and services.

Recalling that ABAC’s theme for 2021 is “People, Place and Prosperity,” she said the well-being of people must be at the heart of everything we do, adding that the council therefore recommended strengthening capacities and structural reform to help empower small businesses, women and indigenous communities.

“We also call for a digitally improved and trade-friendly food system; making sure people are properly fed is fundamental to achieving all other goals, ”she continued.

“When it comes to implementation, we are committed to ensuring that sustainability underpins and drives all of APEC’s economic activities going forward. To that end, we have agreed to a set of climate change leadership principles and a framework for renewable energy trading, which we want to see adopted more broadly.

“When it comes to prosperity, APEC can show real leadership here, as it has done so effectively in the past by championing a credible and relevant World Trade Organization, by putting in place some of the constituent elements of the possible Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, and ensuring that the potential of the digital economy is harnessed through capacity building, more accessible infrastructure and ensuring that digital commerce can flow seamlessly across the region, ”Taulelei said.

She commented that there was an urgent need. “The time to act is now. History shows that a crisis often generates new creativity and new momentum. Our main takeaway for leaders is that we need to start seeing results in all of these areas.”

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to take advantage of the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific. The 21 APEC member economies aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by fostering balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and accelerating regional economic integration. /.