VIDEO: Ministers share views on regional economic priorities

Gita Wirjawan, Indonesia's Minister of Trade (English)

“There was a consolidation of views among trade ministers for APEC and the upcoming Ministerial Conference of the WTO. All of these discussions have been very positive and I think this will have a huge impact both on the bilateral and multilateral fronts,” said Gita Wirjawan.

Alvaro Jana, Chile's Vice Minister of Trade (English and Spanish)

“APEC has been an incubator for trade promotion and trade localization and it has enhanced and multiplied the possibilities for economies like Chile to enter into regional trade,” said Alvaro Jana.

“The new Mexican government has made a very explicit strategy to link the Mexican economy to the Asian economy. For us, APEC is the best organization for us to expand our ties to Asia,” said Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.

Tim Groser, New Zealand's Minister of Trade (English)

“We are making enormous progress, piece by piece, breaking down barriers to economic integration,” said Tim Groser.

“One topic that is the most important in the last year is Connectivity….especially to promote the integration of people and governments,” Blanca Silva Velarde-Alvarez.

“Addressing the developing gaps among member economies is very important for the Philippines. We believe in supporting inclusive growth to make sure everybody benefits from economic growth in region,” said Adrian Cristobal.

“Connectivity would promote growth of the whole region and the world. Thailand has invested a lot in infrastructure connectivity for the ASEAN region that definitely will have results in the APEC region,” said Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan.

Michael Froman, United States Trade Representative (English)

“Efforts APEC has taken over the last decade….have been ground breaking and have helped strengthen the multilateral trading system,” said Michael Froman.