Pomaleu focuses on SME growth

 By Gedion Timothy Lapan 
INVESTMENT Promotion Authority managing director Ivan Pomaleu says economic growth and integration depends on member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation working together in areas such as small to medium enterprises.
He told business leaders from Apec member states at an SME e-commerce summit in Port Moresby yesterday that the country had socialised the theme of Inclusive and Sustainable growth, connectivity for all with member states as it worked towards the Apec Leaders’ Summit in 2018.
The summit was hosted by the PNG Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (PNG ABAC) and ABAC China. It was attended by more than 600 SME operators from PNG and business leaders from ABAC.
It was a side event in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Summit which ends tomorrow.
He said in preparing to host the 2018 event, the country had begun to socialise its policy working theme of inclusive and sustainable growth for all.
“Cascading from them are very important policy pillars including inclusive growth, integrating, connectivity and promoting financial inclusion in the Pacific region,” he said.
Pomaleu said all these policy ideas would continue to work in line with a “policy menu advanced by Peru in 2016 and Vietnam in 2017”.
“Clearly, the development of SME and its integration into the global value chain will continue to be an important feature,” he said.
“Therefore in trying to sit this very important summit into is proper policy context, I believe Apec at a very broad level advocates for it.
“At the economy level, Papua New Guinea supports it and looking into Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2018 featuring small to medium enterprises developments and it integration into the global value chain prominently.”