APEC Must Lift Tumultuous Global Economy Out of Doldrums

From Mikhail Raj Abdullah HONOLULU, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hawaii fully cognisant that the grouping must mobilise efforts to lift the tumultuous global economy out of the doldrums. No thanks to the crisis confronting the US and Europe, the onus would be on Asean members, East Asia and powerhouse China and even non-APEC member India to put the wobbly global economy back on track. This means APEC must resist the temptation of spewing out voluminous pledges on all issues affecting the world at the summit's end but undertake definitive and credible steps to boost growth and create jobs for the long term. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will join other leaders converging at the resort-island including host and US President Barack Obama to deliberate on what is sustainable for the region's economic future. Malaysia would see how best it can be an asset in mobilising regional resources to uplift a global economy which is balanced and sustainable in the future. A sense of helplessness was evident on the part of Washington when US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called on Asian economies to play the "greatest role" in contributing to the global recovery. "These regional economies will need to do more to stimulate domestic demand growth by establishing the foundations of strong, sustainable and balanced future growth. "We are all directly affected by the crisis in Europe, but the economies gathered here are in a better position than most to take steps to strengthen growth in the face of these pressures from Europe," he said at the APEC finance ministers' meeting here Thursday. Trade, finance and foreign affairs ministers are currently finalising the agenda for their leaders to deliberate. Najib, who arrives here Friday, starts off his APEC schedule by attending the first-ever Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) leaders meeting on Saturday to be chaired by Obama. TPP, comprising Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, US and Vietnam, does not come under APEC but its leaders are taking advantage of the meeting here since all are APEC members. At a meeting Thursday among top officials of the APEC Business Advisory Council, business organisations from across the region expressed strong support for the TPP negotiations. They urged TPP leaders to reaffirm their countries’ commitment to a comprehensive, high-standard and ambitious TPP, with the goal of concluding negotiations in the first half of 2012. Besides meeting with top American and APEC chief executive officers during the APEC meetings, Najib will deliver a talk on Nov 12 on the Global Movement of the Moderates at the East-West Center, the prestigious education and research organisation in Hawaii. The prime minister is also expected to have a bilateral meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as well as jointly chair a session on business ethics on small and medium enterprises with regards to medical products with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Najib, who would be accompanied by his wife, Rosmah Mansor, would also attend a dinner hosted by Obama for all APEC leaders at the Hale Koa Hotel in Honolulu on Saturday. Throughout Sunday, APEC leaders would deliberate on economic issues affecting the region, which will culminate in Obama reading out what is believed to be the Honolulu Declaration that sets out the way forward for APEC. -- BERNAMA