Cebu Action Plan for the Asia Pacific Region Marches Towards September
APEC Senior Finance Officials Meeting Opens in Bagac
11 June 2015 Bagac, Bataan—The Philippines opens the APEC 2015 Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting (SFOM) today to firm up the Cebu Action Plan ahead of the Finance Ministerial Meeting in September, at the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar heritage resort. This comes on the back of a successful set of sessions under the Workshop on Fiscal Management Through Transparency and Reform leg of the Bagac meetings.
Senior finance officials from APEC member economies are set to begin by grounding discussions on developments in the global economic and financial landscape. Delegates will consider the region’s coordinated policy responses against the backdrop of growing inequality amid continuing uneven global recovery and risks. A key priority to increasing integration across Asia Pacific is the need to build more inclusive and resilient economies.
Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima welcomed senior finance officials across the region saying, “The Cebu Action Plan is our region’s collective investment towards shared prosperity. Each pillar—integration, transparency, resiliency, and infrastructure development—holds up our vision of what world we deserve to live in.
As they converge on recreations of old cobblestone streets in Las Casas, I welcome delegations from across the Asia Pacific in our bid to fashion a braver and brighter common future.”
Discussions will center around the Cebu Action Plan (CAP), a 4-pillar proposal by the Philippines. Building on the progress made in the previous APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in Tagaytay City last 5-6 March 2015, senior finance officials are expected to firm up the CAP.
Treasurer of the Philippines Roberto B. Tan opened the meeting saying, “We have made significant progress since we first introduced the Cebu Action Plan in Clark last January. We thank the each delegation for their contributions in refining and firming up each of the pillars, in identifying timeframes and action items to follow-up on our CAP-related initiatives and deliverables.
We recognize the long-term value of the CAP. We have worked together to ensure that it is a lasting, collaborative effort defining how APEC shapes the future of the economies of the Asia-Pacific region.”
The first day will cover APEC CAP initiatives in promoting financial integration and advancing fiscal transparency and reforms.
Greater regional integration across Asia Pacific paves a clear path for greater intra-regional trade and investments. Priorities on financial inclusion, as well as access to credit and finance, are likewise set to be scaled up across the region by facilitating linkages and opening markets up in terms of products, services, and cross-border investments.
Enhanced transparency and openness in the region generates increased scrutiny, ensuring the efficient use of public resources are invested to critical areas of development. The CAP pillar on fiscal transparency and reforms reflects the region’s commitment on open governments, exchange of information on taxation and financial transactions across borders, scaling up regional investments, and making public investment more efficient.
A cultural dinner hosted by Treasurer Tan at the Palacio de San Jose will close the day, showcasing the best of Filipino talent and hospitality.
