Millions of people were lifted out of poverty. Countries in the region became politically more stable and open. The foundation and consolidation of APEC was a visible sign of this. Many of these benefits are now threatened. At a human level, unemployment has increased massively.
Families face great hardship.
Food shortages and malnutrition have reappeared. Children are being withdrawn from school. The internal political pressures created by these developments are immense. The most important aim of these countries and the region as a whole must be to get back on the path of sustained growth. This must be the focus of the APEC leaders' meeting in Kuala Lumpur in mid-November.