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APEC Leaders Launch Action Agenda for New Economy
Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Thursday launched a wide ranging Action Agenda, laying out a vision to capture the full economic and social benefits of the emerging new economy.
The Action Agenda is part of the Leaders' Declaration issued at the end of their 8th annual meeting in Brunei Thursday.
"We recognize that this is only a start and that it will require cooperation and partnership among APEC economies and between business, government and the widest spectrum of the community," the leaders said.
The leaders instructed ministers to develop and expand this agenda, in consultation and engagement with the stakeholders in order to:
-- strengthen market structures and institutions to enable new and existing forms of trade and investment in goods and services to flourish in the new environment;
-- develop a conducive policy environment for investment in infrastructure and the development of technology; and
-- induce innovation and entrepreneurship and build human capacity and knowledge and through comprehensive and high quality education, training and skills development programs.
The Action Agenda outlines programs that will help member economies use advances in information technology to boost productivity and stimulate growth and extend services to the whole community.
The Action Agenda includes ways to promote the right policy environment and build capacity to help create a framework to strengthen markets, electronic commerce, infrastructure, knowledge and skills development, and provide affordable and more efficient access to communications and the Internet.
The leaders said the revolution in the information and communication technology is boosting the development of a global economy as it carries with it unprecedented opportunities in a new style of economy.
"However, we realize that the technology and the benefits it can bring have not yet reached millions of our people. Our vision is to prepare each of our economies and all our people to use the technology revolution as a passport to the fruits of globalization. "
The leaders welcomed the APEC's report on the Knowledge-based Economy which focuses on the issues of business environment, innovation systems, human resource development and information and communication technology as valuable inputs in charting APEC's future work in the new economy.
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