YB Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry successfully led the Malaysian delegation at the 28th APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting held on 21-22 May 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The 28th MRT was the first in-person gathering of Asia Pacific Trade Ministers in three years, as travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually eased.
Chaired by The Honourable Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Thailand, the MRT Meeting witnessed the full participation of Trade Ministers from all 21 APEC Economies in the hope for APEC to move towards being open to all opportunities, connected in all dimensions and balanced in all aspects, for a post-COVID-19 future for the Asia-Pacific region.
The MRT also saw the participation of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who shared her insights and aspirations for multilateral solutions in addressing global challenges, as well as the status of ongoing work at the WTO, leading up to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) taking place in June this year.
In advancing Thailand’s APEC 2022 theme of “Open. Connect. Balance.”, the MRT Chair urged Member Economies to progress APEC’s work in deepening regional economic integration, with a renewed focus to realize the Free Trade Area of the Asia- Pacific (FTAAP), towards achieving the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040. In this regard, Datuk Lim expressed Malaysia’s hope that APEC will solidify and concretise the work on FTAAP, focusing on new and emerging issues, with greater inclusiveness and shared responsibility between the public and private sectors as this would ensure a trade ecosystem that is robust, responsive and relevant.
The MRT also deliberated on reconnecting people, trade, and investment to create a resilient and prosperous Asia-Pacific region for sustainable and inclusive growth in which the Ministers commended the work pursued by APEC on safe passage to ensure seamless cross-border travel. In his intervention, YB Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to collaborate with other APEC Economies in pursuing the initiatives to harmonise travel requirements for a seamless resumption of cross-border travel and movement of goods in the Asia-Pacific region.
He added that strengthening regional digital adoption is also crucial as an enabler to catalyse economic growth as well as adopting green elements in the growth trajectory, commending the ongoing work on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model by the Kingdom of Thailand, in line with Malaysia’s 12th National Plan focus on advancing green growth for sustainability and resilience, and the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) elements in doing business.
With WTO MC12 just weeks away, the APEC MRT reaffirmed their support for the Multilateral Trading System (MTS), and shared views on key areas for a successful MC12, which is vital in restoring global confidence in the MTS.
In this regard, Datuk Lim echoed the strong views on the importance of WTO to produce ambitious MC12 outcomes, including in responding to the pandemic by accelerating the public health and economic recovery.
On this note, he expressed hope for a successful outcome from the ongoing negotiations on the temporary WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) waiver of certain intellectual property protections, towards an equitable, affordable, and accessible COVID-19 vaccine for all, as well as the trade facilitation measures to address the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Malaysia also urged the need to conclude the long and outstanding issues, namely the negotiations on fisheries subsidies and agriculture that would place food security at the forefront. Malaysia also expressed the need to expedite the reform efforts at the WTO, especially the imperative to have an enforceable dispute settlement body.
