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APEC Asked to Prepare Communities to Face Challenges of New Economy
Brunei's Acting Foreign Minister Princess Masna Sunday stressed the need for APEC to contribute in preparing the regional community to face the challenges of globalization and allow them to share in the prosperity of the new economy.
APEC should seize this moment and take up the challenge to meet peoples' expectations for more opportunities and a better life in the new-economy era, Princess Masna said in her opening remarks to the 12 APEC Ministerial Meeting which began Sunday.
"The emergence of the new economy has created a lot of expectations in our communities. Our peoples look at it as a period for more opportunities in making a better life," Princess Masna, who is co-chairing the two-day meeting with Brunei's Industry and Primary Resources Minister Abdul Rahman Taib, said.
She said while realizing that they (communities) also play a part in responding to the opportunities and challenges in the new economy, they expect that APEC governments have an important role in providing a conducive environment to realize their expectation.
"This is where this year's theme, Delivering to the Community, reflects APEC's roles and responsibilities to the regional community in a world that is increasingly global and dynamic. The continuing challenges we face from this environment will be felt by all our communities and will be most evident in the sections of our community that are less able to take advantage of the revolutionary new technologies," the princess said.
She was of the view that APEC is in a position to contribute in building stronger foundations for growth whether through strengthening markets, improving the efficiency of doing business or undertaking necessary reforms.
Believing that an integral part of building stronger foundations is the facilitation of economic and technical cooperation (Ecotech), the princess said "within the broader context of Ecotech, human capacity building will play a central role in equipping our communities with the right skills and knowledge to face the challenges of the globalized environment."
She said "APEC needs to ensure that the advances in information and communications technology will be harnessed to improve the lives of our peoples. APEC can make a difference and our discussion on this matter must ensure that APEC will seriously address the creation of new opportunities for our communities."
APEC also needs to convince the public that the policies are indeed building blocks towards improving standards of living and needs to continue reaching out to the community by strengthening links with the private sector, youth, women and other segments of the society, she said, adding this is very important in making APEC matter more to the community.
She hoped that in the course of the deliberations over the next two days, the ministers can find ways to move forward and tackle the new challenges so that APEC economies can better prepare all their peoples.
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