APEC to hold virtual senior officials' meeting over COVID-19 economic recovery

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will chair a virtual senior officials' meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said on Thursday.

The meeting, scheduled for May 27, will focus on operationalization of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade statement on COVID-19 and will discuss issues related to economic recovery, while ensuring that the efforts already in place to mitigate the health impact of the outbreak continue to yield positive results, it said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade issued a statement calling for greater cooperation among participating economies to facilitate trade as a way to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

In addition to the public sector representatives from APEC economies, the meeting will also witness the participation of private sector players through the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), it said.

APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. 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.