Apec charts the pathway from pandemic

WHILE much of the globe is focused on the COP26 climate summit in Scotland, at the other end of the world on Nov 12 and 13 will be another key meeting - the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leadership session including Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

This year's Apec, chaired by New Zealand, will in the words of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seek to "chart a path to recovery out of a once-in-a-century crisis" from the pandemic. This has been the biggest economic and political shock since the World War II for Apec's nearly 3 billion population, who generate around 60 per cent of global gross domestic product across the Pacific rim, from Chile to Russia and Thailand to Australia.

After tens of millions of recorded infections, well over 1 million deaths, and the thick end of a million jobs lost, Ardern will seek to promote an inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery at the same time as some countries face new waves of infections. And after some almost 350 preliminary Apec meetings, progress has been made.