APEC finance minister meet in Chile with economic integration topping the agenda
Finance ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries will meet in Chile today for four days of talks that will focus on the integration of financial markets through digitalization.
The primary focus of APEC is to facilitate economic integration by removing any barriers to the free movement of goods, services and people throughout the participating states.
In recent years, the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (TFAAP) and the Ease of Doing Business Action Plan have spurred infrastructure, investment and trade among nation states while eliminating procedures to starting business. Furthermore, the creation of Single Window, an application shared by member states, has allowed countries to digitize necessary import and export information online.
Topping the agenda this week will be revisiting the Cebu Action Plan (CAP) of 2015, which seeks to increase cooperation through inclusion, as the conference is also centered around gender parity. Furthermore, the plan seeks to expand and democratize access to the Internet and technology.
While there have been some roadblocks to fuller integration that have come in the form of trade spats between member nations, integration in the recent years has alleviated poverty in many participating states and dramatically boosted trade.
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