New Structural Reform Plan Against Future Shocks
The Third APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) Convened Virtually On 16 June 2021
New structural reform plan to boost resilience against future uncertainties
Following the success of the 27th APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting on 5 June 2021, New Zealand hosted the 3rd APEC Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) virtually on 16 June 2021. Both The Honourable Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry, The Honourable Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and The Honourable Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, The Honourable Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong were involved in the Meeting.
The 3rd SRMM was the second ministerial meeting hosted by New Zealand in its capacity as host of APEC 2021. Ministers and officials from 21 APEC Economies are expected to participate in the meeting which will be chaired by The Honourable Dr David Clark, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, New Zealand. Other keynote speakers participating include The Honourable Mr Grant Robertson, Chair of the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process, Mr Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Dr Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Meeting aimed to advance APEC’s structural reforms efforts in support of respective APEC Economies’ domestic reforms. In this regard, the meeting focused on the role of structural reforms designed to support post-pandemic economic recovery. Ministers were expected to exchange views on how structural reforms will be implemented towards economic recovery that is inclusive, sustainable and driven by innovation.
The discussion of the 3rd SRMM will be guided by specific topics that will be addressed by the Ministers and keynote speakers, namely:
- green recovery supporting structural reform for sustainable economic growth and recovery from economic shocks;
- structural reform and recovery from economic shocks; and
- the interplay between macro and microeconomic policies in effective recovery from economic shocks.
Malaysia places great importance on the structural reforms agenda in APEC. This year, Malaysia together with Canada will be championing the work on “Resolving Insolvency”, one of the five indicators in the Third APEC Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Action Plan which will be adopted at the upcoming SRMM
