Asia Paciific Region Needs Structural Reforms: WB

Nusa Dua, Bali, Sept 20 (Antara) - Countries in the Asia Pacific region need to make structural reforms a priority to expand economic potential amid declining growth in developing countries, according to World Bank`s (WB) Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministerial Meeting on Friday, Sri Mulyani said countries in the Asia Pacific region should come up with structural reforms. She noted that developing countries should speed up their economic growth by making every effort to improve investment climate in the field of infrastructure and increase the rate of employment to encourage productivity. Amid uncertain global economic conditions, Sri Mulyani explained that the APEC Finance Ministerial Meeting has been able to identify infrastructure cost as a priority in the 2013 discussion. "In this year of uncertainty, it is important for countries in the Asia Pacific region to focus on stable and long-term investments," she added. She pointed out that the total infrastructure cost in developing countries is predicted to reach one to 1.5 trillion dollars per year. According to Sri Mulyani, the World Bank has started establishing global infrastructure facilities as a step to enhance government and private resources. She also highlighted that the US central bank, the Fed, has postponed stimulus reduction as a short-term positive step for both developing and developed countries. "It is time for policy makers to gain momentum to solve domestic problems and reduce external financial pressures," she said.