The latest Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting will takeplace on November 18-19 in Manila. This year’s meeting takes place under the mottochosen by the Philippines presidency – Building inclusive economies, building a betterworld.
For a long time trade has been the driving force of economic growth in the Asia-Pacificregion and other parts of the world. However, as the effect of tariff liberalisation started towear off, it became clear that we need additional agreements covering services,investment, non-tariff barriers, competition policy, and subsidies. Of course, we cannotreach such agreements without complicated negotiations and mutual concessions.
Deeper regional economic integration offers us a possible way out of the current situation.Today, Russia and its close neighbours – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan –have taken successful steps to develop the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Ourintegration project is based on the WTO’s universal, transparent principles and is designedfrom the outset to work together with other countries and their organisations. In May thisyear, we signed a free trade agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam. Another 40countries are examining the possibility of signing similar agreements.
One example of responsible and transparent partnership is the agreement to converge ourEAEU project with China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. This will allow us to resolve anumber of bottlenecks in transport infrastructure and procedures for cross-bordermovement of goods and services. It will also give a big boost to effective integration of theAsia-Pacific economies.
We hope to reach mutually advantageous agreements on traditional and renewable energysources, emergency and disaster response, food security and agriculture at the Russia-ASEAN summit next year in Sochi.
Overall, the creation of new free trade zones will help to create good conditions forliberalising trade and investment flows in the region. At the same time however, the waythe confidential fashion in which the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations wereconducted is probably not the best way to facilitate sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacificregion.
We believe that the strategic road ahead lies not only in increasing the number of freetrade zones, but also in joint development and implementation of the best liberalisationpractices among all APEC members, taking into account each other’s positions andinterests. In this respect, we should continue our course of bolstering APEC’s role as acoordinator of various integration initiatives aimed at developing in the region a commonand open market, free of discrimination and bloc-based barriers. Here, effectiveimplementation of the Beijing Roadmap for APEC’s Contribution to the Realization of theFree Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, approved in Beijing in 2014, is particularly important.
Realising the APEC economies’ development potential will take more than just reachingagreement on the rules of the game for today’s trade flows. We need to work out commonapproaches to development and regulation of the emerging markets that make up thedigital technology-based ‘new economy’. We need to put in place the institutions and rulesthat will contribute to development and create new opportunities for our countries’business people to create modern, promising products and high quality jobs.
Russia, for its part, is active in the work of the region’s new financial institutions – the[New Development] Bank BRICS and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. I amsure that their work will help to develop the region and will also help to make the globalfinancial system stronger and more stable.
At the national level, Russia continues its efforts to create the most comfortable businessclimate. Our efforts have received international appraisal and over the last 4 years, Russiahas moved up 69 points in the World Bank’s Doing Business rating, from 120th place to51st place.
We place great importance on developing the potential of Russia’s Far East. This year, webegan developing the priority development areas – economic zones offering what forRussia are unprecedented tax and other incentives. A special law was passed on a free portin Vladivostok. We plan to extend this status to other key ports in the Far East. The FarEast ports, the Northern Sea Route, and modernisation of our mainline railways will allcontribute to greater integration with the Asia-Pacific region and create an importantinfrastructure link between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
APEC economies are showing real interest too in Russia’s proposals to form a commoneducation space in the region. Today, when the Asia-Pacific region has established itselfever more solidly as part of the world’s leading technology centres, it is more relevant thanever to combine our efforts to create big research platforms and centres. RecognisingRussia’s sense of initiative in this area, our partners have entrusted our country, togetherwith Peru, the right to preside over the APEC Education Ministerial Meeting, which willtake place in Lima in 2016.
Rapid economic growth is not possible without guaranteed energy security in the APECregion and fair and long-term climate regulation. Russia supports APEC’s efforts toestablish good conditions for investing in the regional energy transport system, developintegrated energy markets, increase the share of eco-friendly and renewable energysources, and ensure access to low-carbon technologies.
The Paris Climate Change Conference will take place soon, in December. This conferencewill try to reach a global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Russia wants tosee this work succeed and we have already presented our report on our country’scontribution to these efforts.
The scale and diversity of APEC’s tasks is very impressive. I believe that we will besuccessful in resolving these tasks if we keep to the fundamental principles of workingtogether as partners and acting in the interests of our peoples and our efforts to create aunited Asia-Pacific family.
The author is the President of Russia.
