Pacific Rim leaders will gather virtually to discuss the strategies for helping the economies rebound from the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. The Pacific Rim includes world leaders such as the U.S. President Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping, Japan’s Yoshihide Suga, and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
On Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will chair the special leader’s meeting. The meeting includes a 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. White House stated that there was a telephonic conversation between Biden and Ardern ahead of the leader’s retreat to discuss U.S. interest in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. A premium has been laid down intending to relations with allies in the Pacific by the Biden administration.
The forum member disagrees with the issue of pandemic and vaccine diplomacy and states it to be more inclined towards sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
The virtual meeting of the Rim will straddle 11 time zones which are being chaired from New Zealand’s capital Wellington. The prime minister said that leading a regional response to the pandemic was one of their highest priority when they took over APEC’s chair from Malaysia in an annual rotation among the 21 members.
Ardern added that APEC leaders will work together to get through the pandemic and promote a sustainable and inclusive recovery as she believes nobody is safe unless everyone is safe.
