Malaysia's Putrajaya Vision 2040 Will Witness Rapid Movement In Trade, Commerce - Chief Economist

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- The post-Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2020 forum will herald a new chapter of trade and commerce in order to achieve robust economic growth and social prosperity in the region. At the close of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Friday, the representatives adopted a joint declaration on the need to pursue free and open trade to drive growth during the COVID-19 crisis. They also pledged to a new economic structure under the Putrajaya Vision 2040, a 20-year growth vision to replace the 1994 Bogor Goals, which entails building an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful community by 2040. Observers said the agreements were important to strengthen multilateral cooperation and advance regional economic integration. APEC chose to ward off distractions and concentrate on combatting COVID-19, thus confirming that protectionist trade policies have caused slow progress in the grouping over the past few years. “It is, of course, a positive development,” real estate sales and media company Juwai IQI’s chief economist Shan Saeed told Bernama Monday, adding that the fresh vision will witness rapid movement in trade and commerce. He said this was a strategic move from some APEC economies which have aligned themselves with top economies of the world in order to become relevant in the trade game. Plus, with the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), he was confident that economies in Asia will drive the global growth engine in the next three to five years. Days before the APEC leaders meeting, 15 Asia Pacific countries sealed the trade pact agreement that seeks to deliver substantial new trade and investment opportunities. The mega-deal covers a market of 2.2 billion people with a combined size of US$26.2 trillion (US$1=RM4.08) or 30 per cent of the world’s global gross domestic product. Shan said the trade deal, bringing together China, Japan and South Korea, could add almost US$200 billion annually to the global economy by 2030. He said the RCEP will make a colossal impact on the global economy, bringing hope to poverty alleviation, enhanced trade and faster moving of goods and services for the benefit of all countries in the long run. “Macroeconomic stability is the hallmark of these major economies,” he said. Meanwhile, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said new growth principles of resilience, co-ownership, transparency and a broader shared purpose were key to successfully implement the Putrajaya Vision 2040. The global professional services firm said the region could no longer rely on urbanisation, human capital and trade flow as the rising adoption of technology will continue to attract enough investment to steer it through these challenging times. “Stakeholders must be more self-reliant by supplementing global investment with vision and strategies that are more Asia Pacific-centric,” said PwC Asia Pacific chairman Raymund Chao. He said APEC must focus on five pillars in order to build a more resilient and inclusive future, which include advancing the digital economy and enabling regional enterprise growth. Others are rebalancing supply chains and fostering innovation, expanding and future-proofing the labour force through reskilling programmes, and building climate change resilience towards a net-zero future. “The onus is on every participating nation to reconnect on shared priorities and propel the Asia Pacific economies through strong political will. “There’s urgency in addressing opportunities such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digitalisation, regional growth and innovation, labour reskilling and sustainability,” he said. APEC has tasked officers to draw up implementation plans for Vision Putrajaya 2040 by next year. The 2021 Apec meeting will be hosted by New Zealand. -- BERNAMA