Trade in services is being given special focus in this year’s regional economic integration efforts, according to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) deputy director general Emmanuel Esguerra.
In his opening remarks during the 56th meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Group on Services (GOS) held in Cebu, Esguerra said GOS “will continue our work on increasing the transparency of related regulations in services trade, facilitating cross-border services trade and investments, and fostering the development of open services markets.”
He noted that the initiatives of GOS have led to services being given greater priority in the 2nd Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) to be held in September, also in Cebu.
Ministers from the 21 APEC economies will gather for the SRMM to enhance regional economic integration, review APEC’s structural reform efforts, and set the post-2015 agenda of the region.
Esguerra said he is confident that GOS’ works “have significantly moved the regional economic integration agenda and the Bogor goals forward.”
In 1994, APEC members convened in Bogor, Indonesia to set the goals for free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, which later became known as the Bogor goals.
Moreover, Esguerra said the strong support from the private sector through its active participation in public-private dialogues on services “further reinforces this optimism.”
“Definitely, all these collaborations among economies, across APEC fora, and with the private sector, are creating wider pathways for opportunities to flow throughout the APEC region and to our people,” the NEDA executive added.
Earlier, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), in its proposed initiatives to promote inclusive growth, placed priority on developing the services sector. ABAC said the services sector “is the single biggest contributor to employment (46%) and output (70%) in APEC economic activities as well as offering significant opportunities for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises).”
ABAC chairwoman Doris Magsaysay-Ho said “most of the barriers to the growth of services are structural in nature and will require ambitious policy and regulatory reform.”
Aside from services, ABAC included in its proposed priorities facilitating physical, human and institutional connectivity, creating robust and inclusive financial systems, promoting access to global markets by MSMEs, and enhancing participation in global value chains.
