[asia-apec 1650] APEC Officials Conclude talks in Record Time

[APEC Monitoring Group]

Borneo Bulletin, Brunei

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2000 

  Apec officials conclude talks in record time
  By Suriani Garip
   
  Senior officials of 21 economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) yesterday displayed a show of unity as they concluded an informal meeting in double quick time , ahead of schedule after overcoming differences and reaching a rapid consensus. 

  The senior officials finalised preparations for the two day meeting of foreign ministers and ministers responsible for trade commencing on Sunday in the Brunei capital. 

  Yesterday's meeting was chaired by Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng. 

  According to informed sources the statement to be released next Thursday is expected to include agreement on a new round of global trade liberalisation talks by the World Trade Organisation (WTO.) 

  The officials' recommendations will now go to the meeting of ministers which will put the final touches to the final declaration by the leaders of the 21 Apec economies. 

  The senior officials focused on the three broad themes of building stronger foundations, creating new opportunities and making Apec matter more. 

  During the morning and afternoon sessions, they agreed to forward more than two dozen reports to the Twelfth Ministerial Meeting. The reports are expected to be endorsed by ministers ahead of the Apec Economic Leaders meeting starting next Wednesday. 

  In the area of trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, Pehin Lim presented the SOM Chair's summary report on improvements in individual action plans agreed to by members under the Osaka Action Agenda of 1995. 

  Nineteen economies have already submitted their action plans for this year. 

  Brunei updated officials on a new electronic IAP system developed by Australia, Brunei and Singapore with support from the APEC Secretariat in Singapore and software developed and sponsored by Microsoft Corp. 

  The Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) outlined the committee's annual report to be presented to ministers on Sunday while Australia updated officials on its new bizAPEC.com website. 

  In the area of strengthening the multilateral trading system, Japan briefed officials on the final report on a strategic plan for capacity building in APEC related to implementing agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO). The strategic plan identifies six categories of needs for developing economies and is based on nine reports on various field surveys. 

  Australia also briefed officials on a separate final report outlining the past decade of progress in APEC. The report, "Open Economies Delivering to People", is based on a preliminary report prepared for the annual meeting of APEC ministers responsible for trade held in Darwin in June. 

  In the area of strengthening markets, the SOM Chair outlined a progress report on APEC's "road map" for improving areas such as transparency, competition and regulation while reducing compliance costs and making business easier. 

  The SOM Chair also outlined the annual report by the Economic and Technical Cooperation Sub-Committee to be presented to ministers on Sunday. 

  On macroeconomic issues, the chairman of APEC's Economic Committee briefed officials on the committee's annual report to ministers as well as the annual Economic Outlook and two other reports, "APEC Economies Beyond the Asian Crisis" and "Toward Knowledge-Based Economies in APEC. The chairman also briefed officials on a new study on the impact of higher oil prices on APEC economies, requested by officials during their meeting in September. 

  The SOM Chair outlined a separate report on human capacity building in APEC and meeting the needs of the 21st century. The report highlights education and skills upgrading among the key issues facing all stakeholders ranging from government and business to training institutions and workers. 

  The Republic of Korea briefed officials on its report on an APEC forum on shared prosperity and harmony held in Seoul earlier this year. Initiatives include a regional social safety net, a cyber education network, a hedge fund monitoring channel and a foreign exchange crisis forecast model. 

  Other reports endorsed during the morning session involved creating new opportunities. These included the SOM Chair's report on the New Economy and a report on electronic commerce covering paperless trading, consumer protection and a readiness assessment guide. Also endorsed was an APEC-wide action plan to support the use of electronic commerce by small and medium-sized enterprises. 

  Towards the end of the morning session, China briefed the senior officials on arrangements for a high-level symposium on paperless trading to be held in Beijing in February. 

  During the afternoon session, the officials turned to the third theme of making APEC matter more, reviewing a report on public outreach efforts to communicate the impact of trade liberalization, a framework for the integration of women, and activities to encourage the participation of youth.