Shining light on Apec benefits

ALLOW me to shed some light on what Apec is all about and what we should expect from the Apec meetings.
The year 2018 is a very important year when Papua New Guinea comes under global focus as host of some of the world’s most powerful leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation (Apec) Leaders’ Summit next week.
The meetings will draw widespread media attention, both in PNG and overseas.
Millions of funds have been put into its preparation and hosting (including security preparations), which has drawn considerable criticism from the public.
It is not so clear how PNG has benefited since it joined Apec since in 1993. There is no or very little quantitative evidence to show that there have been benefits.
The Apec meeting is an arena where the members exchange information and experience.
This is one of the important forums where leaders discuss issues of regional and global importance. World leaders discuss common challenges that need concerted efforts and talk about opportunities that can be harnessed.
The coming together of the different economies enables the members to make commitments and work on shared responsibilities on issues of common interest.
Apec gatherings enlighten and broaden the member economies’ understanding of issues related to economic development, food security, climate change and technological development among others.
Their discussions include sharing their experiences on some strategies they have used to overcome those challenges.
These meetings thus provide an avenue where member economies have the opportunity to learn from the experiences and ideas that have been shared by other countries in those meetings.
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Harnessing inclusive opportunities and embracing the digital future” where it recognises the importance of technological advancement as a means for promoting trade and investment among the member economies. This is believed to promote regional economic integration and prosperity for all member countries, meaning that those countries that are left behind are able have the opportunity to learn from the advancing economies through benefiting from opportunities presented in such meetings by technologically and economically advanced economies.
One of the important motives behind the formation of the Apec group was to promote free trade.
Free trade is when trade barriers and trade distortions like import taxes are eliminated to enable swift and efficient flow of goods and services among the trading economies.
Many economists and experts agree that free trade is good for a country as it enables consumers to access a large number of goods and services at lower prices.
The meetings provides the opportunity for both big and small economies to voice their concerns and issues pertaining to trade and investment where those discussions form the building blocks for the formulation of trade policies for member countries. Such activities promote fair trade for all trading countries which can lead to inclusive and sustainable economic growth for all.
The gains from Apec will be twofold.
The first will be immediate, with certain sectors of the economy like the hotels and the accommodation companies benefiting during the Apec meetings.
The next notable benefit will be the expected inflow of foreign currency into the economy which might slightly ease the foreign exchange problem the country is facing.
This inflow could be a good temporary relief to the foreign exchange currency shortage the country is facing. The second expected benefit is of longer term after the Apec meeting is over.
The Apec meeting will raise PNG’s investment and business profile by exposing PNG to the international investment and business community. After the Apec meeting, the countries that have come to PNG will have learnt about the untapped business and investment potentials PNG holds.
This foreign exposure has the potential to attract some inward investment.
To fully take advantage of the opportunities presented by the Apec, it is very important that PNG positions itself as an attractive investment and business destination by improving its investment climate.
Among others, good infrastructure, a stable financial system (including stable exchange rates) and a lower level of law and order problems are some prerequisite conditions for attracting international investors.
Apec will not perform miracles for Papua New Guinea, either as a member or host. The meetings will only open doors for PNG.
How we gain from the meeting solely depends on us, whether we work towards grabbing the opportunities or wasting millions of kina hosting the Apec and losing out at the end.

Richard Napam
Port Moresby