Business leaders push MSME agenda

BUSINESS leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member-states are hoping that the recommendations they will be putting forward to the leaders this year may be carried over in the work program for 2016, when Peru takes over the hosting of the region’s meetings.

At the opening of the 4th Apec Business Advisory Council Meeting (Abac) on Saturday, Abac chair Doris Magsaysay-Ho said they would be seeking to wrap up discussions of the 2015 work program over the next few days and identify issues that need to be carried over to the 2016 agenda.

“We will prepare for the culminating

activity for the year, which is the dialogue with leaders and endorse the work program for 2016 to be outlined by the incoming Abac chair,” Ho said in her opening remarks.

Many of the recommendations made by Abac were included and adopted by trade, finance and SME ministers from Pacific Rim economies in their respective action plans, namely the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize Micro, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs); the Cebu Action Plan, and the Iloilo Initiative. Under these plans, the Abac stressed the need to develop the services sector; to work on financial inclusion and literacy, which were deemed as key enablers to achieving the agenda laid out by the Philippines to boost the competitiveness of the MSMEs; to facilitate physical, human and institutional connectivity; to create robust and inclusive financial systems; to promote access to global markets, and to promote the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which was deemed the “most practical vehicle to achieve the kind of sustainable and inclusive environment.”

Ho noted that for this year, the Apec and Abac had both worked on the theme of inclusive growth, with identical priorities as well as the same understanding and appreciation of the work needed to be done to address the pressing economic concerns facing the region.

“Since the last Abac meeting, we attended various sectoral ministerials, high-policy dialogues, specifically the structural reform, SME, transportation, energy and women and the economy. I am pleased to report that our contributions have been well received. To mention a few of our outcomes this year, with the support of the Philippine government, Abac, ITC (International Trade Center), PECC (Pacific Economic Cooperation Council) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were able to secure agreements to form the Asia Pacific Services Coalition,” she explained.

According to Ho, the launch of the regional services coalition was expected to foster growth and efficiency in the services sector. This, she said, now formed the biggest ever services coalition in the region and in the world.

“Our recommendations and activities pursued through the APFF (Asia-Pacific Financial Forum), the Apip (Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Partnership) and the Asia-Pacific Forum on Financial Inclusion, the collaboration of initiatives under the Cebu Action Plan and I’d like to say that I’m so grateful to Cesar Purisima, the secretary of finance who really welcomed Abac’s recommendations,” Ho said.

Ho added: “In response to the recommendation of the private sector to provide a bigger voice to MSMEs and the Apec process, the Apec SME Ministerial Meeting agreed to carry out activities that would support the objective, including the endorsement of the Apec SME Summit by Abac as a culminating activity under the Philippine Apec year.”

She also cited Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, whom she said had really “embraced the whole agenda that we had for MSMEs inclusion in trade through the Boracay Action Plan and to the Iloilo Action Plan.”

As for the FTAAP, the Abac has already completed the report, which also outlined the recommendations made by the group.