(VOVWORLD) - Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to work together for sustainable economic growth in the face of global challenges.
 Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (photo: VNA) |
He spoke at the APEC CEO Summit on Thursday within the framework of the APEC Summit 2022 in Bangkok.
This year's APEC CEO Summit, with the theme "Embrace, Engage, Enable," involves topics of inclusive growth and development, sustainability, innovation, healthcare, food security, digitalization, and gender equity.
Prayut said that Thailand, the host of this year's APEC meetings, is implementing a development program on a bio-circular-green economy for post-COVID-19 recovery and a detailed plan for long-term, balanced, sustainable, inclusive growth.
He highlighted the indispensable role of the private sector in this process and listed three areas where governments and businesses can cooperate.
First is promoting sustainability, as the world faces unprecedented environmental challenges, including more severe storms and droughts, rising temperatures and sea levels, poor air quality, and losing biodiversity.
Second is inclusive growth. The Thai PM said that economies need to ensure that no one is left behind on the path of development.
The last is digitization. Prayut said that effective digital transformation brings great opportunities for businesses inside and outside the region, and will be a significant economic driver for long-term development.
The 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled to open on Friday with the theme "Open-Connect-Balance".
APEC has 21 member economies, representing about 38% of the world's population, contributing 61% to GDP, and 47% to global trade.