Singapore - Ministers from 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Thursday pledged to maintain stimulus packages, undertake structural reform and find new pathways of growth to secure a sustained recovery of the world economy. "The global economic situation has eased considerably," the APEC foreign and trade ministers said in a joint statement after a two-day meeting at the annual APEC summit in Singapore.
"But the recovery remains fragile; the growth profile over the next few quarters is likely to be uneven," they warned, adding that "unemployment remains unacceptable high in many of our economies."
However, the ministers said they would "ensure that the recovery does not stall and lay a foundation for growth that is inclusive, balanced and sustainable."
"We see Asia leads the world to recovery and we see growth resumes in the United States and around the world after the worst recession in decades," US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a news conference after a meeting of APEC finance ministers.
Geithner urged economies worldwide to shift away from their dependence on US demand, saying that "Americans are saving now."
"The rest of the world has to shift to more domestic sources of growth," he said, adding that the US would continue to be "a voice of reform" and a strong partner for the countries in Asia-Pacific "to confront the major economic challenges of our time."
Singapore's Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that economies had to find new pathways for sustainable growth, as the era of US consumers being the key engine of demand was over.
"At the very least it is not going to come back any time soon," he added.
"Structural reforms have to be at the core of efforts to strengthen domestic demand over the medium- to long-term," said Tharman, noting that it was crucial to look beyond the recovery.
The APEC finance ministers rejected an early withdrawal of stimulus packages implemented to overcome the crisis, saying that exit strategies depended on the degree of recovery in different economies.
"The pace of implementing exit strategies should take into account different stages in the economic recovery of member economies, the type of policy measures to be phased out, and any spillovers caused by our strategies," said their joint statement.
Geithner said that economies would have to take different exit strategies, noting that "it's not going to be identical."
"The important thing ... is a recognition that we need to make these decisions together in recognition of the basic mixes involving each of our countries," he said.
"And I think that'll help improve the prospects that we come out of this with a firmer foundation for growth," Geithner added.
The APEC finance ministers said that in the post-crisis period, key challenges facing the world economy included successfully exiting the extraordinary policy measures, implementing credible medium-term fiscal consolidation strategies and meeting the massive infrastructure needs in Asia-Pacific.
Despite the challenges of the global crisis, they said, the APEC economies remained committed to supporting free and open trade and investment, adding that "we are, and will actively resist protectionist measures."
APEC consists of the 21 Pacific Rim economies and represents about 54 per cent of the global gross domestic product and 44 per cent of world trade.
The forum consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Peru, Russia, the US and Vietnam.
The one-week APEC summit in Singapore is set to culminate when the heads of its member economies, including US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama meet over the weekend.
