Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted there's no need to panic about the world economy after four days of consecutive summitry failed to strike a deal on exchange rates and trade imbalances.
Those twin issues fueled weeks of heated rhetoric - starting with Brazil's predictions of a currency war and then verbal attacks on the U.S. fed from Germany and China - raising the stakes of last week's G20 summit in Seoul and this weekend's APEC gathering in Yokohama.
Instead of clear deals, the G20 played for time by asking a panel led by Canada and India to craft guidelines on exchange rates and trade imbalances while Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders adopted similar language and re-committed to a long-promised Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific by 2020.
Speaking with reporters following the conclusion of the APEC summit, Mr. Harper insisted the need for G20 nations to solve disputes over currencies and trade imbalances is not as urgent as some might suggest. "In fairness, they don't have to be tackled this month or next month in order to avert any kind of cataclysm," he said. "But in order to keep the global recovery going forward in the years to come, we will have to continue to make progress on those issues and through the process that we're co-chairing with India, I'm confident we will make progress over time."
Mr. Harper also said he does not expect the results of the G20 to have any impact on the Canadian economy or growth projections underlying Ottawa's budgetary estimates.
Gathering in this port city on the heels of a G20 summit that failed to resolve concerns over protectionism and currency disputes, the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation agreed to similar language as the G20 on the need to work together.
"As APEC enters its third decade, it has become an engine for progress in the world's most economically dynamic region whose growth has driven rising prosperity for all across the globe," states the final communiqué released Sunday. "We will take concrete steps toward realization of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which is a major instrument to further APEC's regional economic integration agenda."
On the disputes over currencies and trade imbalances that dominated the G20, the final APEC communiqué uses similar language to what the G20 agreed to Friday in Seoul.
The APEC leaders pledged to rebalance and strengthen global demand, pursue sound fiscal management and enhance finance to key sectors such as infrastructure, small and medium enterprises, households and green investment.
"We remain committed to maintaining open markets and fighting protectionism," the leaders stated. "We reaffirm our common resolve to support the recovery in a collaborative and coordinated way."
Some of the main developments at the two-day APEC summit largely took place in the side rooms of the Intercontinental hotel where APEC leaders hold one-on-one sessions.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeatedly used his one on one sessions to discuss the issue of human smuggling, which was not on the official APEC agenda.
Among the developments reported by news agencies over the weekend:
• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed nuclear disarmament with U.S. President Barack Obama, where the President promised to ratify a bilateral treaty by the end of the year.
• South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak discussed North Korea with Japanese President Naoto Kan.
• Japan's trade minister Akihiro Ohata expressed hope that Chinese delays in exporting rare earth - a key component used in electronics - would soon be addressed after meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Ping.
• Malaysia and Chile also signed a trade agreement in Yokohama.
Following the meeting, Mr. Harper heads to central Tokyo for dinner with the Emperor of Japan before returning to Ottawa.