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Prime Minister Ardern Calls for Cooperation to Achieve Recovery
Issued by the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting ChairAuckland, New Zealand, 11 November 2021
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has called for political and business leaders to work together to build a strong, equitable and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delivering the keynote address to a global business audience at the 2021 APEC CEO Summit, the largest business conference in the Asia-Pacific region that runs adjacent to APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, Prime Minister Ardern acknowledged the scale of the pandemic’s impacts and the varied challenges economies have faced.
“But there is now little doubt that staying on top of the virus provides options when it comes to responding to the economic challenges before us,” Prime Minister Ardern said.
“As we prepare for the post-pandemic era, we need to continue to strengthen the partnership between government and business,” she said. “Together, we need to set the stage for an equitable, inclusive and sustainable recovery that invests in people and planet through fresh ideas and renewed resolve.”
Watch: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s welcome speech at the APEC CEO Summit 2021
There were three areas where political and business leaders could work together to achieve an economic recovery to weather future economic shocks.
“We must unlock efficiency and productivity gains that digital innovation offers. After years of talking about the digital transformation, COVID-19 has accelerated progress by years,” stated Prime Minister Ardern.
“Workplaces and businesses must be inclusive of everyone across our communities, particularly women and indigenous peoples,” she added.
“These groups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic’s effects but they are an engaged and productive labor force that have much to contribute. In New Zealand alone, the Māori economy is now worth NZD70 billion.”
Environmental sustainability was the third area for increased political and business cooperation, the Prime Minister said.
“I’m proud of the progress APEC has made this year, including in beginning to turn the tide on the adoption of fossil fuel subsidies which have created devastating environmental degradation by masking the true cost of fossil fuels and inhibiting the transition to adoption of renewable alternatives.”
Prime Minister Ardern acknowledged that addressing such systemic issues would demand a new model of political and business cooperation.
“We have been dealt an opportunity to strike an economic reset on a scale we haven’t seen since World War II. Implementing this level of change during such challenging times will require real courage from all of us, political leaders and business leaders alike,” Prime Minister Ardern said. “APEC Leaders stands with the business community to ensure we all pull through the pandemic stronger than we were before.”
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Make Decisions with the Next Generations in Mind, Urges Prime Minister Ardern
Issued by the APEC Secretariat
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has accepted the APEC Voices of the Future 2021 youth declaration in her role as APEC 2021 Chair on Wednesday. She has acknowledged the work of young people around the region to join together and produce a declaration that projects a vision of hope for our future.
“You have reminded me, reminded us all, that we must always look forward, and make decisions with the next generation in mind,” Prime Minister Ardern said. “As we stand in the face of monumental challenges, young people must be part of the debate about our future.”
Remembering her first APEC experience, not as prime minister but as an 18-year-old youth delegate to an APEC science event in Korea, Prime Minister Ardern said: “I saw firsthand then how vital it is for young people to have a voice on global issues. Today’s declaration to APEC leaders clearly contains many creative and insightful ideas for leaders to consider in order to respond to the concerns of nearly one billion young people around the APEC region.”
The Voices of the Future youth event takes place annually during APEC Economic Leaders’ Week and this year, for the first time, all 21 APEC member economies were represented, with the online event generating the largest turnout in the event’s 23-year history.
The delegates, aged 18 to 24, heard from a wide range of speakers on the event’s four key themes—"International Co-operation to Combat COVID-19,” “The Digital Future,” “A Greener Future,” and “A Future for All”—before presenting their vision in a formal declaration.
“These themes of the declaration align very closely to the overall themes of APEC 2021 and demonstrate clearly that the issues that worry the current generation will also impact greatly on generations to come,” Prime Minister Ardern said.
“Today’s Voices of the Future Declaration shows how much these issues matter to young people, and why they must be involved to help ensure the best outcomes now and for the future.”
Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, the APEC Secretariat’s Executive Director, highlighted the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the youth.
“One of the more concerning consequences of the extended pandemic is its effects on the youth,” Dr Sta Maria said. “Their education and early careers are facing wholesale disruption because of lockdowns.”
“It’s our duty to go the extra mile for them,” she said. “Close the digital divide, nurture their ability to innovate—everything to ensure they are given the means to reach their full and exciting potential.”
To read the 2021 Voices of the Future Declaration, visit this link.
For further details, please contact:
Cas Carter +64 21 341 509 at cas.carter@mfat.govt.nz (in New Zealand)
Sidah Russell +64 21 359 235 at sidah.russell@mfat.govt.nz (in New Zealand)
Masyitha Baziad +65 9751 2146 at mb@apec.org
Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 atmc@apec.org
