The
President of the Republic Dina Boluarte welcomed APEC officials, ministers and leaders to the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in Peru next year to continue the discussions and dialogue toward the growth and prosperity of the region.
In a video released by the
APEC Secretariat on social media,
the Head of State is heard speaking about what is in store during Peru's APEC host year.
"In 2024, Peru will once again hold the presidency of APEC, since its entry into this important forum, as it did in 2008 and 2016. This third occasion demonstrates our strong commitment to APEC and is an expression of the trust placed in Peru by our partners," she stated.
According to the top official, since Peru's entry into APEC in 1998, trade and investment with member economies of the forum have grown significantly.
Thanks to APEC, she said, Peruvian enterprises have inserted themselves into dynamic value chains, both regional and global. In fact, Peru's trade with other APEC economies has grown by an average of 12% per year, and approximately, 66% of the country's trade in goods occurs with the Asia-Pacific region.
"APEC has also been the platform for successful negotiations that culminated in the adoption of bilateral free trade agreements between Peru and economies of the forum such as Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Korea, United States, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand," Mrs. Boluarte affirmed.
"In addition, this has allowed more than 1,500 Peruvian small and medium-sized enterprises to increase their trade with enterprises in those countries, generating jobs for more Peruvians and improving their levels of competitiveness," she added.
Furthermore, she went on to say that for these reason, Peru particularly values the benefits it has received from APEC over the last 25 years, such as the facilitation of trade and investment with its Asia-Pacific partners, the generation of cooperation projects, and the exchange of good practices.
"This valuable experience has allowed us to improve the formulation and execution of public policies that benefit our Peruvian people. Likewise, the confluence of the public, private, and academic sectors within the framework of APEC is a crucial advantage for Peru, as well as for all the economies that make it up, as it helps us to share common objectives, with a view to achieving economic growth and development," the Peruvian dignitary noted.
"We want to thank APEC 2023 for those benefits that each one of us has been manifesting in this week of work. APEC is not only limited to trade investment and public policy, but extend to the need to ensure the well-being of our populations through an inclusive and sustainable approach, particularly relevant in the face of the emerging challenges that we face," she said.
Additionally, the President added that Peru is linked to the Asia-Pacific region for reasons that are not only geographical, but also historical, economic, and cultural.
In this regard, she stressed that Peru's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is a natural consequence of this reality.
"From our presidency, we will bring to the APEC agenda issues that favor the empowerment of economic actors, especially the most vulnerable, through an inclusive and sustainable approach, and the empowerment of women, of course. Because as a female president, that is what we are going to promote," the country's top official underlined.
"During our presidency in 2024, issues such as trade and investment for inclusive growth will be prioritized; innovation to promote the transition to the formal and global economy; and sustainable growth for resilient development, as all economic leaders have stated in these past few days," she expressed.
Likewise, she remarked that, with a decentralized approach, Peru has been preparing the "APEC Citizen Peru 2024" initiative, in order to bring the benefits of the APEC forum closer to the population.
"I am sure that this summit will contribute significantly to issues such as connectivity, innovation, inclusion, and sustainability, which are high on the agenda of this forum," Mrs. Boluarte stated.
Finally, the Head of State invited APEC economies to visit Peru next year during its presidency, in order to continue to develop a constructive dialogue that will contribute to the growth and prosperity of the people in the Asia-Pacific.
Her remarks were delivered last month during her participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week, which took place in San Francisco, United States.
On that occasion, Mrs. Boluarte received the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum for 2024 from
United States President, Joe Biden.
(END) NDP/RMB
Published: 12/4/2023