of quality infrastructure for sustainable economic growth. Recognising the important elements to realise quality infrastructure identified in APEC Connectivity Blueprint 2015- 2025 and its subsequent works, we are committed to translate this concept into actions including in ICT, energy and transport.
We welcome progress and look forward to continue exploring infrastructure financing including through mobilising private sector resources and public-private partnerships( PPP). We encourage further work to pursue the quality improvement of investment opportunities. We are committed to enhancing the synergy and co-operation among various infrastructure connectivity programmes in the region, and welcome the Collaboration Action Plan between APEC Member Economies and the Global Infrastructure Hub. We recognise the lack of effective solid waste management infrastructure imposes great socio-economic and environmental costs, and we encourage further work on this topic.
We welcome economies’ initiatives to achieve comprehensive regional connectivity, which are being jointly built through consultation to meet the interests of all. We encourage further implementation of these initiatives with a view to promoting policy co-ordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-topeople bonds in the region, and
Malaysia is well poised to ride on the economic curve for engineering services in this region.
encourage further collaboration among these initiatives in order to promote regional economic integration and the common development of the Asia-Pacific region.
Looking forward
To achieve sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region we must continue working with a renewed sense of urgency and through Asia-Pacific partnership featuring mutual respect and trust, inclusiveness and win-win co-operation in implementing our commitments and achieving our goals.
We endorse the 2016 APEC Joint Ministerial Statement and commend the work of our Ministers and officials as reflected in the results of the Sectoral Ministerial Meetings, High-Level Policy Dialogues, the Finance Ministers’ Process, the Committees and Working Groups of the Senior Officials Meeting, and all related mechanisms. We instruct our Ministers and
officials to continue their work, including implementation of the recommendations, work programmes, initiatives and action plans of the resulting documents from the 2016 Sectoral Ministerial Meetings and High-Level Policy Dialogues, bearing in mind the vision contained in this Declaration, as well as our previous meetings.
Malaysian Perspective
During the 10 th Malaysian Plan, the services sector was the largest contributor to the country’ s Gross Domestic Product( GDP) at 53.8 % in 2015. It is still some way to go to achieve the target of 58 % by 2020.
The Malaysian National Export Council has discussed strategies to accelerate exports and reduce imports by nurturing local contractors to be more competitive globally, pushing for more Malaysian professional services abroad and forming consortia to win overseas projects. These efforts match well with the 2016 APEC Leaders’ Declaration to promote growth in the service trade by endorsing the APEC Service Competitiveness Roadmap. With the liberalisation of professional engineering services through the amendment of Registration of Engineer Act in 2015, Malaysia is well poised to ride on the economic curve for engineering services in this region.
REFERENCE
Matrade Press Release 2016 APEC official website
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