20thAPECECONOMICLEADERS39;MEETING.docVIP

20th APEC ECONOMIC LEADERS MEETING Vladivostok, Russia September 8-9, 2012 Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper We, the Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), gathered in Vladivostok, Russia on 8-9 September 2012 for the 20th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting under the APEC 2012 theme of Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper to reveal the pathways to strengthen the region’s prosperity and leadership in the global economy. APEC economies have made enormous progress over the past two decades and are looking forward to continuing to grow and prosper in the coming years. Since the first APEC Leaders’ Meeting in 1993 in Seattle, USA, our trade has grown four times and foreign direct investment in the Asia-Pacific region has been growing at an annual rate of more than 20 percent. We are looking forward to building on this success by taking additional steps to promote our shared economic growth and prosperity in the coming years. We recognize that robust international trade, investment, and economic integration are key drivers of strong, sustainable, and balanced growth. With all APEC economies now being members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), we strongly reaffirm our commitment to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the Asia-Pacific region. Since we last met, the global economy has continued to face a number of challenges and is subject to downside risks. The financial markets remain fragile, while high public deficits and debts in some advanced economies are creating strong headwinds to economic recovery globally. The events in Europe are adversely affecting growth in the region. In such circumstances, we are resolved to work collectively to support growth and foster financial stability, and restore confidence. We are committed to strengthening domestic demand where appropriate, facilitating job creation, reducing high public deficits and debts, and implementing structural reforms to boost growth in our economies.