The world after the crisis

'Apec has a good thing going. It has been able to coexist in an open peaceful friendly manner,' Mr Yeo said, calling for the institution to be strengthened and deepened. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

LIMA (Peru) - WHEN the dust has settled on the current economic crisis, the world will need to be rebuilt, both top-down and bottom-up.

Foreign Minister George Yeo shared his vision of the challenge to come here on Friday, speaking at the Apec CEO Summit.

The world, he said, was in the midst of an 'epochal change', one landmarked by the dramatic three months from the Beijing Olympics on Aug 8 to the election of a the African-American Barack Obama as president of the US.

And while much of what will emerge from the turmoil is still unclear, Mr Yeo made one prediction.

Asia - not just China or India - will play a greater role in a new 'multi-polar world'.

The process of getting there would involve a rebuilding process that starts from both ends.

'Top down, because in a multi-polar world, countries have to cooperate and coordinate policy actions,' he said.

And bottom-up, because society's values need to go back to basics.

'What do we tell our children? We tell them now, no shortcuts; back to basics; hard work; never spend more than you earn; education and knowledge are the most important things; and establish trust.'

But Mr Yeo's challenge came with a warning: Some would be better at it than others. This multi-polar world would also be one with new divisions.

In that sense, he saw the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) as a useful uniting force.

'Apec has a good thing going. It has been able to coexist in an open peaceful friendly manner,' he said, calling for the institution to be strengthened and deepened.

Mr Yeo's remarks to business leaders comes near the end of what has been a hectic few days for him in Peru.

Apart from ministerial talks, he had bilateral meetings with fellow foreign ministers from Canada, Russia and Australia on Thursday.

He also called on his Peruvian counterpart Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde.

But there was no escaping talk of the economic crisis, and it was no different when he made his address to the CEOs.

He reaffirmed repeated calls for the urgent resumption of Doha round of world trade talks. The key elements need to be settled before Mr Obama takes office, he said, so that the new president can better fend off protectionist pressures.

Likewise, former White House economic adviser David Hale urged Apec to help Mr Obama play a leadership role in promoting the continuation of free trade policies.

Though he did not regard Mr Obama as a protectionist, he said the Democrats in Congress and Apec have to help 'contain' them.

Perhaps the sharpest call for renewed Doha talks on Friday came from Mr John Key, the New Zealand premier sworn in days ago.

He said a failure to deliver when senior officials meet in Geneva in a few days would be 'nothing short of a political failure'.