Despite facing political turmoil, Malaysia will be will hosting the first ever virtual summit of leaders from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) nations in November.
A statement by the International Trade and Industry Ministry said, "Malaysia is making history by transforming APEC's usual ways of doing business and convening a majority of APEC Meetings in a fully virtual-format.”
The chair for the November 20th Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is currently facing political uncertainty. Due to the pandemic, there were doubts about whether the summit will be held or not, but next year’s host, New Zealand, said that it will use virtual platforms.
The Malaysian king rejected his request to declare a state of emergency to fight the pandemic, against Muhyiddin’s advice. Muhyiddin is being pressured to resign due to the conflict.
During the AELM, the region’s Post-2020 Vision is expected to be launched, that will replace the Bogor Goals. All Apec economies must work together to finalise the document, which will become the primary source of reference for the region in the future.
Malaysia’s Leaders’ Declaration, is also being amended as it had not been changed for the past two years consecutively to reach consensus.