Senior officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies will discuss measures to cope with the acute respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in their upcoming meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Illustrative image (Photo: malaysiakini.com)

They will also talk about the impact of this disease on the regional economy, according to Chairman of the APEC Economic Committee Dinh Quoc Vinh.

Senior health officials will also convene a meeting to deliberate the countermeasures, Vinh added.

He told the press on February 19 that he hoped participants could seek measures and cooperation orientations to fight the disease.

Founded in 1989, APEC includes 21 economies, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US and Viet Nam.

(Source: VNA)