VINA DEL MAR, Chile, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) members on Friday sent out a strong call for free trade.
"Free trade, openness and integration have undoubtedly been powerful factors of our great leap-forward (in development) that we have given in just three decades," said Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Ampuero who hosted the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting here.
"Our economic success is due to open markets and international integration," said Ampuero.
"We also know that the collaborative and consensus-building approach that characterizes APEC continues to shape the way in which we understand trade and investment," Ampuero added.
During the meeting, Director of the Policy Support Unit for the APEC Secretariat Denis Hew presented a report which details the decrease in global trade growth due to restrictive measures on trade.
"Maintaining economic growth amid trade tensions and political uncertainty is a delicate balancing act. But it also presents opportunities such as seeking a more structural reform that fosters sustainable and inclusive growth," Hew said.
APEC was created in 1989 as an engine to facilitate economic growth, boost technical and economic cooperation and improve the facilitation and liberalization of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
