Hon Craig Foss

Minister for Small Business
23 September 2015 Media Statement

Minister to attend APEC Ministerial meeting

Small Business Minister Craig Foss will travel to the Philippines later today to represent the New Zealand Government at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Meeting onmainstreaming Small and Medium Businesses in the Global Economy.

“In New Zealand SMEs account for 97 per cent of our companies and they generate 27 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and thousands of jobs annually,” Mr Foss says.

“Attending the Ministerial meeting will give me an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to SMEs with Ministerial counterparts from other APEC member states.

Mr Foss will be speaking in the panel discussion on Removing Barriers to Facilitate SMEs’ Entry to international Markets.

“This is an opportunity to share the good-news stories of the Government’s policies to support small business and discuss how we can increase New Zealand SMEs’ participation in the Asia-Pacific a region with increasing export growth opportunities.

Fostering SMEs’ participation in our regional, and the global, economy is one of the specific priorities on the APEC agenda this year.

Mr Foss will also visit Malaysia and Singapore for meetings in his Veterans’ Affairs portfolio.

© Scoop Media