Stephen Jacobi, NZIBF Executive Director, speaks to the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit in New Delhi about The Future of Multilateralism.
Open Trade and Investment and Structural Reform are Keys to Quality Growth – ABAC

APEC NEWS RELEASE Asia-Pacific Business Leaders:
Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
“Open Trade and Investment and Structural Reform are Keys to Quality Growth”
Shenzhen, August 4, 2016 – “Pressing ahead with trade and investment liberalization and with structural reform are keys to achieving a more inclusive, high-quality and stable growth trajectory for the economies in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Juan Raffo, ABAC Chair 2016. “This is the central message that the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will be bringing when we meet with APEC Leaders at the APEC Summit in Peru in November.”
ABAC members believe that at this time of continuing fragility in the global economy, it would be damaging to regional growth prospects if public anxiety about the merits of trade liberalization and globalization was met by a protectionist reaction. Government and business should do a better job of explaining the benefits of open trade and investment while at the same time putting in place policies that ensure that those benefits can be shared by all sectors of the community.
“As business leaders, we know that globalization – enhanced by the application of new technologies and ways of doing business – has lifted millions out of poverty. Yet not everyone has shared equally in this dividend. While social safety nets can provide temporary relief and assistance in adapting to the new circumstances, structural reform can address any negative consequences on a longer term and permanent basis. Sound policy and regulatory quality will enhance the ability of business – no matter what size – to access the opportunities that open trade and investment generates. This will also spur new sources of growth such as in the services sector, raise productivity and promote innovation,” said Raffo.
“We see a high quality, comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) as an effective vehicle for achieving necessary reforms. We will be asking Leaders to accelerate the pace of the pathways towards FTAAP, ratification in the case of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and completion of negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP),” said Raffo. “Once APEC’s Collective Strategy Study is completed, we anticipate that APEC will be well-positioned to move to the next stage of the eventual realization of FTAAP, which should include establishing ambitious targets with a future timetable and concrete actions.”
Since its establishment, ABAC has placed great importance on the role of smaller businesses in driving entrepreneurship and employment in all APEC economies. Expanding the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises in regional trade and investment will help achieve quality growth and highlight the benefits of globalization. ABAC will lead initiatives to promote MSME access to global markets, new technologies and finance, as well as empowering women and young people.
ABAC also prioritises the enhanced development of the services sector, which is the single biggest contributor to employment (46%) and output (70%) in APEC as well as enabling significant participation by MSMEs. Business leaders strongly support APEC initiatives that pave the way for more coherent, transparent and efficient regulatory environments which are conducive to the growth of the services sector and that keep pace with the transformation in business models.
In addition, ABAC had a robust discussion about connectivity in particular the digital economy and its contribution to GDP growth around the region. ABAC recognizes that as economies adopt digital strategies, there is an opportunity to contribute to inclusive growth, although efforts must be taken to address infrastructure, capacity building and skills development. ABAC encouraged further work by APEC in a number of areas to ensure that the transformative nature of the digital economy looks at 21st century rules for global trade. The importance of the development of air connectivity to promote harmonized aviation safety standards was also recognized.
The ABAC Report offer our detailed recommendations to strengthen food security, uphold the rule of law and enhance the critical role of finance – all of which are fundamental to sustained quality growth.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
ABAC was created by APEC Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC. Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective Leaders. They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to the Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual Leaders Meeting. ABAC was created by APEC Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC. In 2016, Under Peru’s leadership ABAC is pursuing a work program under the theme “Quality Growth and Human Development” to respond to the challenge of maintaining the economic vitality of the Asia-Pacific Region and ensure it benefits all. There will be four tracks: consolidating progress towards the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific; facilitating MSME development through access to global markets and new technologies; promoting economic growth, diversification and sustainability; and strengthening the rule of law and economic and social sustainability.
ABAC 2016 co-chairs are Hoang Van Dung and Doris Ho, with five (5) working group chairs, namely: Sir Rod Eddington, Regional Economic Integration Working Group (REIWG); Hiroyuki Suzuki, Finance & Economics Working Group (FEWG); Dato Rohana Mahmood, MSME & Entrepreneurship Working Group (MSMEEWG); Bart Peterson, Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG); and Anthony Nightingale, Connectivity Working Group (CWG).
For further information please contact:
Ms. Jessica Luna, ABAC Executive Director 2016, Tel: (511) 625 7700, Email: jluna@comexperu.org.pe
Mr. Antonio Basilio, Director, ABAC Secretariat, Tel: (63 2) 845 4564, Email: abacsec@pfgc.ph
REGISTER WITH TRADE WORKS
Register to stay up to date with latest news, as well as saving and discussing articles you’re interested in.
Latest News
Remarks to Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit, New Delhi, 15 March 2023
"The Future of Multilateralism" by Stephen Jacobi, NZIBF Executive Director Namaskar Tēnā koutou katoa – greetings to you all in the language of the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is an honour for me to speak to such a distinguished gathering today....
AMIDST THE STORM: ABAC MEETS IN AUCKLAND
Perhaps a cyclone was after all a fitting backdrop for the meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) which was held in Auckland on 12-14 February – the global environment against which the meeting took place is decidedly stormy. In the event the wind...
Asia-Pacific business leaders call for action on climate and economic inclusion
APEC NEWS RELEASE Issued by The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Auckland, 14 February 2023 - Members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) met in Auckland, New Zealand this week to develop a work plan that calls on policymakers to leverage trade and...
ASIA-PACIFIC BUSINESS LEADERS GATHERING IN AUCKLAND, 12-14 FEBRUARY 2023
Media Release - 8 February 2023 Equity, sustainability and opportunity are key themes of one of the largest gatherings of senior Asia-Pacific business leaders held in New Zealand for some time. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is due to meet in Tāmaki...
A YEAR FOR RECONNECTING
As I write this end of year dispatch, NZIBF is preparing to host the first meeting for 2023 of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). We are looking forward to welcoming the 200 or so business leaders and senior officials from APEC member economies across the...
MAJOR GATHERING OF ASIA-PACIFIC BUSINESS LEADERS TO BE HELD IN AUCKLAND, 12-14 FEBRUARY 2023
Media Release - 14 December 2022 Sustainability, digitalisation and resilient, inclusive trade will be key themes of a major gathering of senior Asia-Pacific business leaders to be held in Auckland early next year – the first such event to be held in New Zealand...
NZ Herald: Time to lift our game in India
Following his recent visit to India our Executive Director Stephen Jacobi penned this article advocating a more strategic approach to the further development of the relationship. The article was published by the NZ Herald on 9 December.
APEC Rolls out Priorities for 2023
Issued by the Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting - Honolulu, The United States, 13 December 2022 Aiming to provide tailwinds for member economies to strengthen recovery and resilience, as well as advance broad-based economic growth, the United States rolled out its...
NZIBF 2022 Chair Report
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2022 CHAIR’S REPORT I am pleased to present my second report on the activities and achievements of the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) for 2022-23, our fifteenth year of operations. At the outset I would like to thank Members for...
APEC Leaders Issue 2022 Declaration and the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green Economy
Issued by the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting Bangkok, Thailand, 19 November 2022 The Leaders of the 21 APEC member economies issued the 2022 Leaders’ Declaration following the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Thailand,...
NZ BUSINESS LEADERS AT APEC 2022
New Zealand business will be represented at the APEC Leaders’ Week in Bangkok, commencing 13 November, by members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). New Zealand’s three members – Rachel Taulelei, Malcolm Johns and Anna Curzon – supported by Stephen Jacobi...
Submission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Re-Development of the Framework for Integrating Labour Standards and Trade Agreements
Submission by NZIBF – October 2022 This submission is made on behalf of the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF), whose members are listed at Annex A[1]. NZIBF is a forum of senior business leaders working together to promote New Zealand’s engagement in the global...
Address to the 51st One Stop Update for The Accountant In Business, 25 October 2022
ADDRESS TO THE 51st ONE STOP UPDATE FOR THE ACCOUNTANT IN BUSINESS AUCKLAND, 25 OCTOBER 2022 STEPHEN JACOBI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE Thanks to Brightstar for inviting me back to address this conference once again. When...
Submission to MPI on Modernising Our Export Assurances Systems: Legislative Options
Submission by Export NZ and NZIBF - 29 September 2022 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Export New Zealand (ExportNZ) and the New Zealand International Business Forum (NZIBF) welcome the opportunity to comment on the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Modernising Our Export...
Submission to MFAT for CPTPP Review
30 September 2022 Phil Mellor Economic Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wellington (By email) Dear Phil, Thank you for your email of 1 September, seeking our comments on the three year review of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans...