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APEC members are determined to use all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural - individually and collectively, to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
The determination was the highlight of a joint statement issued on October 21 by the Finance Ministers of 21 APEC member economies at the 24th APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) in Quang Nam province.
Monetary policies should continue to support economic activities and ensure stable prices while remaining consistent with central banks’ mandates, said Vietnamese Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung who chaired the three-day meeting.
He noted that strong fundaments, sound policies and a resilient international monetary system were essential for the stability of exchange rates.
Dung also reaffirmed the key role of structural reforms in achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
The ministers recognized the importance of four priorities identified by Vietnam for APEC 2017.
The meeting also endorsed a policy statement on Diversifying Financing Sources and Fostering Private Sector Involvement in Infrastructure Investment in APEC member economies. It recognized the essence of building risk allocation mechanisms and applying appropriate risk mitigation instruments in public-private partnership (PPP) contracts.
Effective disaster risk financing and insurance strategies, including solutions for financial risk management of public assets, would help mitigate and transfer risks, and better support timely recovery and reconstruction after disasters, the joint statement said.
It also highlighted the importance of financing for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas, and for narrowing income gaps, saying the introduction of new and varied financial solutions for this sector would create more favorable opportunities for people and businesses to access suitable and affordable products and services.
Financial infrastructure, particularly credit information, secured transaction and insolvency systems as well as trade and supply chain funding are essential, the statement said, encouraging cooperation on credit information to support cross-border trade and investment.
Results of the meeting will be reported to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit which is scheduled to take place from November 6-11 in Da Nang city.- (VNS/VLLF)
