APEC leaders issue 2022 declaration

The Leaders of the 21 APEC member economies issued the 2022 Leaders’ Declaration following the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha.

The declaration affirms APEC Leaders’ long-standing commitment to promote strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as their commitment to realize the APEC Putrajaya Vision. In their declaration they said that they are determined to uphold and further strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system. They welcomed progress this year in advancing the Free-Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. They will strengthen APEC’s standing as the premier economic forum in the region and as an incubator of ideas.

Given the continued efforts of economies to respond to and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders are determined to achieve a post-COVID-19 economic recovery and will reinforce systems to prepare for future crises. 

They recognize that more intensive efforts are needed to address today’s challenges such as rising inflation, food security, climate change and natural disasters, among others.

"Recognising the detrimental impact of corruption on economic growth and development, we are committed to taking practical actions and a united approach, to jointly fight cross-border corruption and deny safe haven to corruption offenders and their illicit assets," the resolution reads.

"We recognise that more intensive efforts are needed to address today’s challenges, including climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, food security, and sustainable energy transitions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while ensuring energy resilience, access and security in the region, including by facilitating investments in relevant activities," the resolution reads.

"We pledge to expedite and intensify our work to promote agricultural development, including in rural areas, and promote long-term food security by ensuring our agricultural and food systems are more resilient, productive, innovative and sustainable, strengthening global food supply chains, and reducing food loss and waste," the resolution added.

Leaders also endorsed the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy - a comprehensive framework to further APEC’s sustainability objectives. Leaders will advance these goals in a bold, responsive and comprehensive manner, merging existing commitments with new aspirational ones.