APEC should be model for Asia-Pacific solidarity: President Prabowo

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) should be a model to strengthen regional solidarity and collaboration and highlighted its role in realizing an inclusive future.

At the APEC Leaders Informal Dialogue with Guest session in Lima, Peru on Nov. 15, Prabowo affirmed that the APEC should serve as the bridge for an inclusive future for all amid increasingly complex global challenges.

He then suggested three strategies that APEC should carry out to achieve the goal, with the first being to bolster cooperation in the clean energy transition and the development of resilient infrastructure against the climate crisis.

“We are facing climate change, and many of our islands are threatened by the rising sea level. We are working with many other countries and invited them to our collective economic activities,” Prabowo said, as per the Presidential Secretariat’s written statement on Saturday.

He elaborated that the second strategy aims to make APEC a “bridge to innovation” through an inclusive digital transformation scheme by addressing the technology gap and pushing for technology transfer among APEC members to encourage innovation.

“We believe that Asia-Pacific will lead digital transformation and inclusivity,” he added.

Prabowo also suggested APEC to be a “bridge to greater inclusion” as all individuals and groups should enjoy the benefits of global development. Hence, Indonesia will support efforts to realize better governance and eradicate poverty and corruption.

“Indonesia supports APEC priorities on these aspects,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, Prabowo reiterated Indonesia’s commitment to free trade, continuity, and inclusiveness.

He affirmed that participation in APEC also reflected Indonesia’s contribution to realizing an inclusive, innovative, and resilient future for all.

Prabowo has been in Peru since Nov. 13 to attend the 2024 APEC Summit and its sideline agenda on Nov. 15-16, 2024. His next destination will be Brazil to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18-19, 2024.