Finance ministers from the bloc's 21 economies stress that they are on track to gradually recover economic activity.
The Finance Ministers of the 21 economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) who met in Lima (Peru), issued a joint statement under the slogan “Sustainable + Digital + Resilient = APEC”.
The statement reflects the outcomes of the 2024 APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting chaired by José Arista, Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru. It outlines joint actions that APEC member economies will undertake in the following priority areas: Global and regional economy, Sustainable finance, Carbon pricing and non-pricing measures.
Also in Sustainable energy transitions, Financing sustainable infrastructure, Open finance to enhance competition and foster innovation, Digital financial inclusion, Financing hydrometeorological risk, Modernisation of the finance ministers' process.
The Finance Ministers also launched the Sustainable Finance Initiative to coordinate and promote voluntary information sharing and capacity building on sustainable finance.
They also welcomed the adoption of the guidance document for developing a new roadmap and approved a strategy to modernize the Finance Ministers' Process.
Below is the document in question:
APEC FINANCE MINISTERS JOINT STATEMENT 2024
Lima, Peru, October 21, 2024
1. We, the APEC Finance Ministers, convened our 31st Meeting in Lima, Peru, on 21 October 2024, chaired by Mr. José Arista Arbildo, Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru.
2. Within the framework of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process 2024 under the theme: “Sustainable + Digital + Resilient = APEC”, and its priorities, we envision and encourage a more sustainable, more digital, more resilient and APEC-centric Asia and the Pacific region, envisioning the future of the Finance Ministers’ Process. We also reaffirm our strong commitment to the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, including the implementation of the Aotearoa Action Plan and the Cebu Action Plan.
GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ECONOMY
3. Despite easing inflationary pressures and gradual monetary policy easing, the medium-term outlook for global and regional economic growth remains uneven and weaker than before the pandemic.
We also recognise that the likelihood of a soft landing for the global economy has increased and that we are on track for a gradual recovery of economic activity. However, risks remain, including rising global debt challenges, the effects of high interest rates, geo-economic tensions, disruptions to global value chains, commodity price volatility and extreme weather conditions due to climate change.
4. We stress the need for a balanced mix of monetary, fiscal and other policies to address global and regional challenges, with strong multilateral cooperation in the APEC region as a critical driver for economic growth.
This approach is essential to foster an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community for the prosperity of all our people and future generations. Our policy initiatives must emphasize leveraging our macroeconomic strengths and prioritize policies that enhance growth and mitigate risks.
We recognize the importance of implementing responsible and prudent fiscal and monetary policies, taking into account their potential spillover effects. We also recognize the relevance of effectively addressing debt-related vulnerabilities, including through joint efforts by official and private debtors and creditors to achieve debt transparency. We also reaffirm our foreign exchange commitments made in 2021.
5. We recognize efforts to pursue complementary initiatives that support sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth, reduce poverty and seize opportunities, such as promoting sustainable financial objectives, fostering trade and investment, boosting innovation and digitalization, expanding access to quality education and decent work, and promoting more competitive markets in all sectors, as well as the transition to the formal and global economy.
In line with this, we reiterate the importance of continuing to work together to support a rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core.
Accordingly, in 2024, we strengthened our cooperation and contributed to global and regional discussions, sharing best practices in the areas of sustainable energy transitions, national carbon pricing and non-pricing measures, sustainable infrastructure financing, open finance, digital financial inclusion and hydrometeorological risk financing.
This knowledge is essential to achieve sustainability, inclusion and resilience of economic development, in line with the specific national circumstances of each economy.
MORE SUSTAINABLE
6. We recognize the importance of developing an appropriate policy mix, which could consist of fiscal, market and regulatory mechanisms, including, as appropriate, the use of national carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms, carbon markets and incentives, with a view to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, taking into account the latest scientific developments and in line with different national circumstances.
We therefore emphasize the need for appropriate and coordinated approaches to climate action, leveraging a diverse set of policy instruments, tailored as necessary to the specific circumstances of each economy.
We recognize the importance of engagement and collaboration among stakeholders, including the public and private sectors, to address climate challenges, and that a diversity of approaches can foster investments and other key elements for sustainable transitions to serve as a tool to drive innovation and sustainability with effective and efficient results.
7. To achieve clean, sustainable, fair, affordable and inclusive energy transitions, we highlight the need to adopt comprehensive strategies covering various dimensions to overcome the barriers that would inhibit the advancement of the sectors.
We recognise that each sector has its own set of challenges, and we also recognise the benefits of tailored approaches and solutions. We therefore highlight the importance of innovative financing mechanisms that take into account the specific needs of the various sectors and the individual circumstances of each economy, such as blended finance .
We also highlight the importance of enabling tools, such as taxonomies, sector roadmaps and sustainability disclosure frameworks, and the development of financial products and services to support clean, sustainable, fair, affordable and inclusive transitions, as well as the crucial role of transition financing.”
We recognize the importance of considering energy transition technologies and promoting adequate financing of economic sectors. We recall our previous commitments to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognizing the importance of providing essential energy services to those who need them.
8. We recognize the importance of financing quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and cross-border infrastructure projects, which should support sustainable and inclusive economic growth and human well-being, while ensuring economic, financial, social and environmental sustainability (including climate resilience).
We highlight the importance of cooperation being able to play a significant role in enabling infrastructure financing and remain committed to the implementation of the APEC Connectivity Plan (2015-2025). This year, we have witnessed progress by APEC economies in including sustainability considerations in their infrastructure frameworks, as well as innovative financing mechanisms.
In addition to public sector financing, we underline the need to expand private sector financing to close infrastructure gaps.
9. We launched the Sustainable Finance Initiative (Annex A) to coordinate and promote voluntary information exchange and capacity building on sustainable finance issues. This initiative will operate and end in 2027, unless renewed, in accordance with its Terms of Reference.
We thank Peru for serving as the first Convener for the period 2025-2027.
MORE DIGITAL
10. We recognize that the adoption of Open Finance schemes in our economies has the potential to improve competition in financial markets, offer more personalized, affordable and accessible financial products and services to consumers, and foster financial inclusion by providing access to those who have historically been excluded from the financial system.
We further note that the development of such schemes can promote greater transparency and strengthen trust in financial services, but also brings with it new risks and challenges that need to be addressed. We encourage economies and stakeholders to make efforts to share best practices and standards, including in the area of consumer protection, that foster the development of competitive and responsible open finance ecosystems.
Such an approach could include both practices and standards that mitigate risks, address the special vulnerabilities faced by marginalized groups, prioritize benefits to consumers, and ensure consumer confidence in data sharing within the APEC region.
11. We highlight the importance of harnessing the power of digitalization to promote inclusive finance in order to reduce digital divides between different economies and socioeconomic groups.
We recognize the crucial importance of digital financial education to create resilient, inclusive and sustainable economies. In a world where technology is constantly redefining the interaction between people, businesses and financial markets, we encourage economies to drive innovation, foster healthy competition and promote digital financial education as a policy tool to support economic development.
We believe that by equipping people with the knowledge and tools to navigate and use digital financial services, while strengthening awareness about data privacy, informed consent and security measures in place, we can foster trust in the use of financial services, reduce potential harm, ensure inclusion and support sustainable economic growth in our economies.
It is essential to adapt these educational initiatives to the specific needs of vulnerable and underserved populations to help close gaps in financial literacy and inclusion. In this regard, we recognize the importance of digital infrastructure and fostering cooperation to promote digital financial inclusion and financial literacy.
MORE RESILIENT
12. In recent years, hydrometeorological events have increased in frequency, duration and magnitude due to climate change. We recognize the need to strengthen domestic financial protection, as determined by each economy and according to its own circumstances, against such risks to support the sustainability of public finances. We highlight the importance of addressing these risks due to the high social, fiscal and economic impacts that can affect critical sectors such as health, housing, infrastructure, agriculture, electricity, etc.
We note that improving resilience begins with a better understanding of risks, their disclosure, and the development of strategies to manage them. We recognize the importance of improving the financial management of hydrometeorological risks, having reliable information to quantify them, and determining the best financing strategies.
At the same time, we recognize the importance of preventive measures to reduce the vulnerability of economies, including the development of resilient infrastructure and early warning systems. We encourage the participation of the private sector and international organizations to strengthen the financial management of these risks.
In this regard, we emphasize the importance of financing and insurance against disaster risks to mitigate and respond to present and future events.
MORE APEC
13. Considering that the Cebu Action Plan is coming to an end in 2025, we welcome the adoption of the Guidance Document for the Development of a New Finance Ministers' Process Roadmap (Annex B), which will serve as a basis for the preparation of this document next year. We appreciate the support of the Policy Support Unit (PSU) for the preliminary review of the implementation of the Cebu Action Plan and the assessment of possible considerations for the new voluntary and non-binding roadmap.
14. We recognize that the Strategy for the Modernization of the Finance Ministerial Process, adopted in Lima in 2016, remains relevant and important for the FMP, and we support the Second Strategy for the Modernization of the Finance Ministerial Process (Annex C) to ensure that the Finance Ministerial Process remains a streamlined, efficient and beneficial platform for all APEC economies.
15. We acknowledge and value the efforts and progress of the APEC Regional Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Solutions Working Group (DRFI-WG), the Asia-Pacific Finance Forum (APFF), the Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Partnership (APIP), the Asia-Pacific Financial Inclusion Forum (APFIF), the Asia Region Funding Passport (ARFP) and the APEC Development Finance Program (AFDP).
16. We acknowledge the work carried out and take into account that the work on Financing a Just Energy Transition (FJET), created in 2022 within the framework of the “New Strategy for the Implementation of the Cebu Action Plan”, has been completed.
OTHER MATTERS
17. We appreciate the continued support of the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank Group in carrying out the tasks of the Finance Ministers' Process, as well as the contributions this year from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and UNDP.
18. We welcome the active and continued engagement of the private sector with the Finance Ministers' Process, through the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and other private sector stakeholders, and acknowledge ABAC's recommendations to Finance Ministers.
19. We thank Peru for hosting the APEC 2024 FMP this year and look forward to meeting again for our 32nd meeting in the Republic of Korea in 2025.
