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Friday, March 29, 2024

Duterte to join APEC meet

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President Rodrigo Duterte will be among the leaders who will join an online meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting on Friday as the world grapples with the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Malacanang said Monday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed the President’s attendance in the APEC forum in a press briefing.

“This will be the first time that the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held virtually,” Roque said, adding “this year’s summit will have two sessions.”

“This is on Nov. 20. It will start at night. There will be a Leaders’ family photo at night and there will be two sessions, and if I’m not mistaken, they’re just short sessions, and then there will be a break and a final session.” 

APEC is comprised of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

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This year’s summit will be hosted by Malaysia, and will be the first time the economic leaders from APEC’s 21- member economies will meet virtually. Last year’s summit in Chile was canceled due to violent protests in the South American country.

Expected to be launched during the forum is the new vision that will guide the 21 Pacific Rim economies in the coming years.

Last week, Duterte participated in the virtual 37th Association of Southeast Nations Summit and Related Summits, where he talked about deepening regional integration and strengthening supply-chain connectivity.

He urged cooperation among Southeast Asian countries to ensure that their people will have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Duterte also engaged the other leaders in an open dialogue, calling for enhanced multilateralism on the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery, climate action, and peace and security issues in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in the South China Sea disputes.

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