YOKOHAMA, Japan, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific leaders will call for policies that promote balanced growth and start work on creating a vast free trade area in the world's most dynamic economic region.
In a draft statement to be issued at a summit of the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the leaders will adopt what they called their first real effort to provide a framework for long-term growth in the region.
The draft, made available to Reuters, left a space for remarks on macroeconomic conditions, saying the leaders would await the outcome of a Group of 20 summit in Seoul on Nov. 11-12.
The APEC leaders will meet in Yokohama on Nov. 13-14.
"We must take to heart the lessons of the recent past and seek to strengthen the foundations of each of our economies and of the multilateral trading system to ensure balanced, sustained growth and job creation in the region," the statement said.
The group, including the leaders on the world's three largest economies -- China, Japan and the United States -- also pledged "unwavering commitment" to make further progress toward free and open trade and investment.
Following are some of the key points of the draft statement:
- adopt policies that promote balanced growth within and between APEC economies
- work towards target of free and open trade and investment by 2020
- take concrete steps towards realising a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP)
- continue significant structural reforms in their economies
- promote simplification and harmonisation of customs-related procedures
- further reduce barriers against goods, services and capital
- create new green jobs and industries
- phase out fossil fuel subsidies and promote low-emission power sources
- improve supply chain conectivity by addressing choke points
- accelerate innovation by improving professional workforce mobility
(Reporting by APEC Newsroom; writing by Jonathan Thatcher; editing by Bill Tarrant)