HIS Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday attended the Retreat Session of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting at APEC Haus in Port Moresby, joining other leaders in discussing issues on cooperation and exchanging views on regional and international issues of common concern, as well as APEC’s external relations and its future direction.
In his titah during the session, which carried the theme ‘Connecting for Inclusive Growth Through Digital Future’, His Majesty hailed notable albeit irregular improvements in global trade despite today’s geopolitical and economic uncertainties, calling on the APEC economies to work together to increase trade and investment to maintain such continued economic and uphold the forum’s founding principle of multilateralism.
“This principle was the platform on which APEC was built when I and other APEC leaders met in 1993, when we agreed to uphold the spirit of openness and partnership based on the open multilateral trading system,” His Majesty said.
“To this day, I believe support for the World Trade Organization (WTO) that ensures free, open, transparent and inclusive trade rules remains vital. There is a need for the organisation to be strengthened to meet not just current but also future challenges.
“We need to address new and complex issues brought about by developments in technology especially as economies look towards the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.”
His Majesty said that APEC should continue to provide its leadership in terms of demonstrating that economic integration benefits the people and businesses.
He noted that APEC had over the years also been successful in implementing some of the new frameworks of the WTO, adding that APEC’s principles of non-binding commitments and voluntarism had created the environment for its members to advance those new initiatives.
“Cooperation between APEC’s member economies in structural reform, including on the Ease of Doing Business, had also helped APEC close its development gaps,” the monarch said.
“I thereby encourage the APEC economies to continue working based on these principles and intensify their efforts towards achieving the Bogor Goals. APEC needs to ensure that its focus remains relevant in order to address any challenges that could arise in the future. This is pertinent so that the economies can take strategic steps to unlock their full potential in the digital era.”
The Bogor Goals are a set of goals to realise free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific agreed upon by APEC member economies in 1994 in Bogor, Indonesia.
Making reference to certain sectors and global value chains already being affected by technology disruptions, small businesses struggling to compete, and fewer employment opportunities in traditional fields of work, His Majesty urged the forum to continue with reforms to assist those left behind, such as implementing initiatives that are inclusive and sustainable.
Speaking on APEC’s future direction, His Majesty said, “It is important to ensure that the Post-2020 Vision is bold yet pragmatic like the Bogor Goals in 1994. We need to also prepare the youth with the right skills for new jobs by improving education and training policies. The APEC economies also need to provide adequate infrastructure for businesses to flourish in cross-border e-commerce.”
In this regard, His Majesty stated that Brunei Darussalam welcomes the APEC Action Agenda on the Digital Economy in order to carry out the Roadmap that the leaders endorsed in 2017.
Ending his titah, His Majesty called on APEC to “continue to work on the basis of its key principles as it looks beyond the Bogor Goals”, adding that “its economies had achieved so much along the way and could accomplish even more if they built on their strength through APEC’s pillar of economic and technical cooperation”.
Upon arrival at APEC Haus earlier in the day, His Majesty was greeted by Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Chairman of the 2018 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting Peter O’Neill.
His Majesty then joined the prime minister and the other APEC leaders for a group photograph before proceeding to the Retreat Session.