APEC finance ministers issued a joint statement backing free trade on Tuesday. Themed "Connecting People, Building the Future," the 2019 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Santiago, Chile, chaired by Chile's Minister of Finance Felipe Larrain.
"Multilateral domestic policy actions are vital to placing global growth on a stronger footing. Especially if we want to continue to achieve APEC's overarching objective of creating greater prosperity for the people of the region," said Larrain.
Recognizing the global uncertainties led by trade and geopolitical tensions, ministers called for flexible fiscal policies that will create jobs and foster investment while also maintaining sustainable levels of public debt.
APEC ministers also highlighted the opportunities offered by the digital economy and evolving technologies, specifically for strengthening financial supervision across industries.
They also call on enhancing economic resilience by improving the economies' approaches to disaster risk financing and insurance in regions vulnerable to natural disasters.
The meetings conclude a week of events that convened senior officials from the region's finance ministries and central banks.
APEC is an inter-governmental forum made up of 21 economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The APEC region is an economic juggernaut, nearly tripling the size of its economy since the forum's launch in 1989.
Those economies make up 40 percent of the world's population, 60 percent of its gross domestic product and 50 percent of the total trade, according to the summit organizers.
