THE 22nd APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting (APEC SMEMM) was recently held in Iloilo City, Philippines and chaired by Secretary Gregory L Domingo, Department of Trade and Industry, Philippines.
Ministers and representatives from 21 APEC member economies attended the September 25 meeting which was themed ‘Mainstreaming MSMEs in the Global Economy.’
Brunei Darussalam was represented by Datin Paduka Malai Hajah Halimah binti Malai Haji Yussof, Ambassador at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in Manilla, Philippines; and senior officials from the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources.
The APEC SMEMM is held annually by the APEC host economy to advance APEC’s support for micro, small, and medium enterprises that comprise the majority of businesses in all 21 APEC member economies.
In the APEC region, SMEs account for around 90 per cent of all businesses and employ as much as 60 per cent of the work force. However, they generate only around 30 per cent of global exports. The objective of the SMEMM and related meetings offer a unique opportunity to work with other Asia-Pacific partners and to encourage the rapid development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The APEC SME Ministerial Statement is in congruent with the three sub-themes of ‘Addressing Barriers to Facilitate MSMEs Entry to Markets,’ ‘Advancing Modernisation and Standards and Conformance of MSMEs’ and ‘Promoting Inclusive Growth through Sustainable and Resilient MSMEs’ and were endorsed during the meeting. It will be presented as a contribution to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November 2015 in Manila, Philippines.
Ministers and representatives from 21 APEC member economies attended the meeting which carried the theme ‘Mainstreaming MSMEs in the Global Economy’. – PHOTO CORTESY OF MIPR
Additionally, the APEC Iloilo Initiative: Growing Global MSMEs for Inclusive Development was also adopted which encouraged the APEC Member Economies by advancing policy frameworks to promote MSMEs participation in Global Value Chains and international trade through the ‘APEC MSME Marketplace.’ With this initiative the seed of internationalisation is bound to grow into global MSMEs in the near future.
A dialogue session between the SME ministers and CEOs was also held during the meeting to discuss on how the partnership between government and private sector can translate the MSME innovation agenda into tangible actions to improve the environment for innovation, to stimulate innovation and increase the contribution of SMEs to innovation.
Before wrapping up the meeting, the APEC SME Ministers took note that the next APEC SME Ministerial and related meetings will be held in 2016 in Peru and previewing the focus areas for these upcoming meetings.
Alongside the meetings, the week-long event kicked off with other events, particularly on the ‘APEC Seminar Finance Forum’ organised by the Philippines in cooperation with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Asia Pacific Financial Forum (APFF), the ‘APEC Start Up Accelerator Network (AAN) Forum II: From Start Up to Scale Up” organised by Chinese Taipei. Other workshops namely ‘APEC Workshop on Facilitating SME Trade through Better Understanding of Non-Tariff Measures in the Asia Pacific Region for the Agriculture, Food Processing and Handicrafts Sectors’ and ‘APEC Business Continuity Plan Workshop’ organised by the host country were also held concurrently.
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