By Yantoultra Ngui
HONG KONG, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Finance ministers from member economies in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum have agreed to strengthen macroeconomic policy communication and coordination to address external risks and challenges, Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Foan said on Wednesday.
At the conclusion of the ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong, they also reached a consensus on promoting practical cooperation in the financial sector, which focused on supporting people’s livelihoods, digital infrastructure financing and locally adapted measures for inclusive finance development, Lan said at a briefing.
Separately, a policy statement was released on digital infrastructure financing for the Asia-Pacific region, aimed at supporting regional trade, economic connectivity and enhancing economic opportunities.
“We encourage member economies to develop reliable, accessible, scalable, trusted, secure and resilient digital infrastructure; enhance digital literacy and skills; promote interoperability; and cross-border digital connectivity to accelerate the digital transformation in the Asia-Pacific region,” it said.
Ministers also sought deeper collaboration between the public sector, the private sector and multilateral development banks to foster innovation and risk mitigation, it said.
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Hong Kong and Shi Bu in Beijing; Writing by Liz Lee; Editing by Tom Hogue and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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