Full text of the Da Nang Declaration: Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future

III. Strengthening the Capacity and Innovation of MSMEs

28. We commit to strengthen the ability of MSMEs to compete in international markets and participate in global value chains through the following actions:

• Increase MSME’s innovation capacities, including by facilitating their access to finance,

technology and capacity building, especially for women and youth-led businesses;

• Improve access to the internet and digital infrastructure;

• Enhance MSMEs digital capabilities, competitiveness and resilience;

• Create an enabling environment for MSMEs, including by promoting business ethics; and • Support start-ups through establishing an innovative start-up ecosystem with conducive regulatory frameworks that promote a business-friendly environment, ensuring access to resources, and building start-up networks and partnership.

29. Acknowledging efforts to promote supporting industries, we encourage economies to enhance competitiveness and facilitate industries’ participation in global value chains.

30. We welcome the endorsement of the APEC Strategy for Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs.

IV. Enhancing Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture in Response to Climate Change

31. We underscore that APEC can play a key role in ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, particularly in the context of climate change and rural-urban development. We reiterate our commitment to achieve a sustainable APEC food system by 2020. We welcome the adoption of the Food Security and Climate Change Multi-Year Action Plan 2018-2020. We urge economies to work together to promote sustainable agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries to assess and reduce food loss and waste, enhance food safety, agricultural productivity and resilience against climate change, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, where appropriate.

32. We commit to take actions to enhance regional food markets, food standards and supply chain connectivity to reduce costs of food trade, improve market transparency and help both importing and exporting economies adapt to food price volatility. We recognize that APEC can contribute to addressing challenges to food security, including by taking steps to integrate food producers into domestic and global food supply and value chains, address chokepoints arising from infrastructure gaps, and burdensome and unnecessarily restrictive trade measures. We underscore the need for an enabling policy and regulatory environment to facilitate investment in rural infrastructure, logistics and agro-industry to improve the connectivity of food markets. We support public-private partnerships on strengthening rural-urban development at the economy and regional levels. We welcome the adoption of the APEC Action Plan on Rural-Urban Development to Strengthen Food Security and Quality Growth.

33. We reaffirm our commitment to promote sustainable management of natural resources in achieving sustainable food security and higher productivity of the agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries sectors. We commit to continue to foster APEC cooperation on sustainable use and integrated management of land, forest, marine and water resources, through transboundary cooperation and collective efforts.

V. Fostering a Shared Future

34. We appreciate deliberations on APEC toward 2020 and beyond that started in Peru in 2016 and furthered in Viet Nam, as the Bogor Goals target date approaches and APEC is about to enter its fourth decade. We look forward to APEC intensifying efforts to achieve free and open trade and investment in the region by 2020 and setting a strategic, aspirational and action-oriented vision for its future.

35. We reaffirm our enduring commitment to underwrite dynamism, inclusiveness and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and to build a responsive, responsible and people- and businesscentered APEC toward a shared future – resilient to challenges and accountable to its businesses, workers and people. We pledge to uphold the Asia-Pacific partnership based on mutual respect and trust, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation. We recognize APEC’s contribution toward achieving sustainable development. We further encourage the participation of relevant stakeholders in APEC cooperation so that cooperation achievements can benefit larger population across the Asia-Pacific.

36. We are committed to carrying out further concerted actions to maintain APEC as a key driver of regional and global economic growth and integration and a major contributor to the regional economic architecture. We welcome members’ initiatives that promote trade and investment in the region. In an increasingly interconnected world, we pledge to enhance synergy and complementarities with other regional and international institutions and fora. In this connection, we congratulate the ASEAN on its 50th Anniversary and commend its contributions to regional development and prosperity. We will strengthen APEC's global leadership in addressing the most pressing economic challenges.

37. We welcome the establishment of the APEC Vision Group to assist Senior Officials in shaping the post-2020 Vision, including through consultations with relevant stakeholders. This Vision would build upon past achievements, addresses unfinished business, and explore new areas of cooperation to better respond to new and emerging challenges and pressing issues in the coming decades.

38. We highlight the importance and welcome the contribution of capacity building efforts by member economies. In this regard, we note with appreciation new initiatives, including the establishment of the Women and the Economy Sub-fund, and encourage more contributions, especially untied contributions.

39. We thank Viet Nam for its leadership this year, eleven years after its first hosting of APEC, in advancing the APEC process built on the vision and work of the previous APEC hosts.

We look forward to meeting again in Papua New Guinea in 2018.

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Annexes:

Annex A: APEC Action Agenda on Advancing Economic, Financial and Social Inclusion

Annex B: APEC Framework on Human Resources Development in the Digital Age