LIMA /Peru/, November 16. /TASS/. Leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries expressed their concern over some countries’ protectionist measures that eventually widen the gap between the rich and the poor, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, who heads the Russian delegation to the APEC summit in Lima, Peru.

"Attention was paid to the ongoing economic fragmentation, which we all are witnessing at this point. Huge concern was expressed over the fact that economies are starting to defend from each other, taking protectionist measures, which disable the existing global value chains and, naturally, affect the economy and global productivity of labor. In the final analysis, this widens the gap between the rich and the poor," Overchuk said.

In his opinion, decades of economic globalization boosted global wealth. "However, this wealth was concentrated at the hands of large corporations who benefited from these processes, while ordinary people got practically nothing," the Russian deputy prime minister continued.

"Of course, <…> the need to maintain an open, transparent dialogue among the nations was also discussed today," he said. "We talked about new platforms for dialogue, including BRICS, where global problems that we are facing today can be addressed in a conversation among equals.".