World leaders dial in as New Zealand hosts special APEC meeting on pandemic

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stressed the importance of the 21-economy group working together to navigate a way out of the pandemic. - AP

WELLINGTON (Reuters): US President Joe Biden, Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and other world leaders meet virtually on Friday (July 16) for the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC, seeking collective actions to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impacts.

New Zealand, the revolving Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation host, said this week it will chair the extraordinary meeting ahead of a formal gathering in November, the first time such an additional meeting has been held.