Irina Gorbulina took part in the work of the Business Advisory Council of APEC (ABAC) in Bangkok, Thailand on November 12

The main goal of the event was to prepare final version of the ABAC report to the leaders of APEC Countries.
Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Chairman of ABAC-2022 and Federation of Thai Industries presented the report to Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand and Chairman of APEC-2022.
The report contains recommendations of ABAC for the leaders of APEC on overcoming the unprecedented economic crises, which hit the Asian-Pacific Region resulting from the ongoing pandemic, geopolitical conflict, inflation and supply chain disruptions, which have a direct impact on businesses both large and small. These recommendations formed the basis of discussions with APEC leaders during the annual dialogue on November 18.
The goal of ABAC recommendations is to accelerate the region’s economic recovery as well as to restore momentum for dynamic, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient long-term growth. Fighting inflation, food insecurity, restrictions on the movement of essential goods and services to combat the pandemic and safe opening of borders to restore economic activity will be key to speeding up the recovery. Restoring long-term growth momentum will require action to address the effects of climate change, promoting regional economic integration by supporting a rules-based global trading system and accelerating the implementation of a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening support for MSMEs - including women- and indigenous-owned businesses - to promote integration, encourage faster and broader digitalization, and undertake fiscal consolidation and structural reforms.
All of these actions are fundamental to ensuring that the Asia-Pacific region is whole, dynamic, sustainable, and resilient--and a place where everyone, including disadvantaged and underserved groups, can enjoy the benefits and opportunities offered by deeper regional economic integration. However, this will require even greater collective leadership and decisive action by APEC. The business sector has expressed its willingness to play a significant role in this effort.

Irina Gorbulina, Head of FBA EAC Representative Office in Australia and New Zealand 










Note
APEC member countries: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States and Vietnam. ABAC was established by APEC leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC. Each economy is represented by three members, who are appointed by their respective leaders. They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
ABAC is implementing a work programme under the theme: « Embracement. Involvement. Inclusion», to combat the challenges of sustaining economic resilience of Asian Pacific Region and provide benefits for all.
The Chairman of ABAC-2022 is Kriengkrai Thiennukul (Thailand), Co-chairs are Rachel Taulelei (New Zealand) and Dominic Ng (USA) as well as five chairs of working groups: Lam Yi Young (REIWG), Janet De Silva (DWG), Rohana Mahmood (MSMEWG), Ning Gaoning (SWG), Hiroshi Nakaso (FEWG).