PH turns over Cebu Action Plan to Peru

As next meeting host

MACTAN, Cebu— The Philippines is now set to turn over the Cebu Action Plan, a 10-year development roadmap for Asia Pacific, to the next host of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2016 for the shaping of the roadmap and setting the priorities under it.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said he will meet today [Saturday] with Peru, the next host of APEC summit, to work closely for the proper turnover of the CAP agenda.

“We hope the CAP emerges as the lasting legacy of the Philippines’ hosting. With 21 economies, multilateral institutions, and private sector support behind it, we are optimistic the CAP can be taken in the next meetings as a living body of continuing work in our bid for a more prosperous, financially integrated, transparent, resilient, and connected Asia Pacific,” Purisima said in a joint press briefing for APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting held here in Cebu on Friday.

CAP is a 10-year development roadmap drafted by the Philippines, with inputs from development partners and other member economies of the APEC.

Chief Advisor of Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) Enzo Defilippi said Peru will focus on the development of CAP and its implementation during its hosting of APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting (FMM) meetings next year.

“We would like to focus our efforts in several initiatives of Cebu Action Plan that we believe will give us sustainable growth,” Defilippi said.

The regional roadmap

was launched on Friday, following a series of Philippine-hosted meetings and workshops earlier in the year among senior officials from finance ministries across Asia Pacific.

The four key pillars of CAP are financial integration, fiscal reforms and transparency, financial resilience, and infrastructure development and financing.

“CAP continues the progress towards the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment, as well as the Kyoto Report on Growth Strategy and Finance of identifying priorities for future growth in APEC region,” Purisima said.

“We identify these targets to be met by interested APEC economies on a voluntary and non-binding basis. Future hosts will have the opportunity to shape the CAP, and set the priorities during their year and adjust the initiatives and deliverables, given emerging global and regional developments,” he further said.

On Friday, the 22nd Finance Ministers’ Process already ended. It will be followed by the 23 Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Lima Peru in October.