MikeLigalig.com

Sydney, Australia, 29 January 2007

 [https://www] [https://www]

 

The video is available here: http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/2007/50f.aspx



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APEC Mining Ministers will meet next week to expand trade and investment in the mining sector, to remove behind-the-border barriers to resources trade and to ensure the long-term environmental sustainability of mining in the region.

Taking place in Perth, Western Australia, on February 12 to 16, the Third Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting (MRM3) will also involve a high level of business sector interaction with ministers.

Under the theme "Improving leading practice sustainable development in mining" the meeting will build on the achievements of the previous two Mining Ministerial Meetings held in Korea and Chile to strengthen the mining sector.

Ministers will consider ways to remove behind-the-border measures that stifle and distort trade in minerals. Proactive actions that will be considered include efforts at regulatory reform, improving transparency and strengthening the capacity of government institutions to reduce these barriers.

Mining Ministers will also look at increasing technical cooperation to strengthen the mineral resources sector in all economies, to promote trade and enhance employment.

With environmental issues of major concern globally, ministers will also continue to discuss ways of ensuring mining materials are mined, used and disposed of responsibly.

The meeting will be chaired by Australia's Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP, and involve around 300 delegates from APEC mining economies including ministers, government representatives, industry executives and international NGO representatives

The APEC region includes the world's largest producers and consumers of minerals and accounts for more than 70% of global consumption of coal, iron ore and tin.

The venue for the meeting, Western Australia, is a resource-rich State that accounts for over half Australia's national mining investment.

Further information about MRM3 is available at: www.mrm3.apec.org



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Issued by 3rd APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting

The Chair of the Third APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting (MRM3), the Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP, held a media briefing at the start of the meeting in Perth today.

Audio from the news briefing is available for download and use by the media.

MP3 Audio Download [3MB]

Mr. Macfarlane, who is Australia's Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, gave journalists greater perspective on where the meeting fits into the APEC Australia 2007 schedule, anticipated achievements of the meeting and the relevance of hosting the APEC Mining Ministers' Meeting in Western Australia.

The meeting is taking place on February 12 to 16 under the theme of "Improving leading practice sustainable development in mining." 
The program involves business sector and NGO interaction with ministers as well as opportunities for bilateral meetings between Member Economies.

The APEC region includes the world's largest producers and consumers of minerals and accounts for more than 70% of global consumption of coal, iron ore and tin.

Further information about MRM3 is available at: www.mrm3.apec.org



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Australian Industry, Tourism and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane today launched the third Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Mining Ministers' forum in Perth, the first APEC meeting for 2007.

"It's fitting that the Mining Ministers are meeting in Western Australia, a resource-rich state that accounts for over half of Australia's national mining investment and continues to demonstrate mining development success," Mr. Macfarlane said.

"The APEC region accounts for more than 70 per cent of the world's mineral resource development and trade and many APEC economies derive important economic benefits from the extraction, trade and use of minerals and metals.

"The region's challenge is to ensure that mineral resource development remains profitable and aligns with community expectations for sustainable development, and that's what this week's forum is all about.

"The theme for the forum is APEC - Improving leading practice sustainable development in mining."

Mr. Macfarlane said the forum provides the opportunity to discuss major impediments to investment in the APEC region and to increase collaboration amongst the region's mining communities.

"Ministers will discuss and debate items such as global supply and demand in minerals and metals markets, effective governance and streamlining regulation, and the implementation of sustainable development initiatives.

"Industry, environmental and social leaders will be able to influence and inform Ministerial discussions and share leading practices in the mining sector."

"The forum has attracted more than 300 attendees, including Ministers, from 19 of the 21 APEC economies, and 34 high level stakeholders, from the region's mining and resources industry as well as environmental and social groups."

As the Australian Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Minister Macfarlane is hosting the forum, the first of the APEC Ministerial meeting rounds.

Further information about MRM3 is available at: www.mrm3.apec.org



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Government Ministers, business executives and NGO representatives shared views today on ensuring sustainable development in the minerals sector at the Third APEC Mining Ministers' Meeting.

The Stakeholder Dialogue with APEC Mining Ministers included presentations from the incoming CEO of Rio Tinto, the Executive Director of Oxfam Australia, and other leading industry and business figures.

News photographs are available for download and use by the media.

Moderated by Australia's Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP, the dialogue enabled diverse perspectives to be presented in a way that Mr. Macfarlane described as important to the APEC process.

"APEC is essentially a government form but unless we engage actively with all stakeholders of the region the true value of APEC won't be realized," Mr. Macfarlane said at the meeting.

The incoming CEO of Rio Tinto, Mr. Tom Albanese, highlighted the importance of the mining industry to work to ensure the sustainability of the mining industry during the current resources boom and beyond.

"These are extraordinary times for mining," Mr. Albanese said to the meeting. "Mining booms are not new and the cyclical nature is a given. What is unusual is the extended nature of this boom and the number of commodities involved. In addition, globalization means that these effects are being felt more widely and deeply than before.

"The global mining industry is committed to helping the people of the world to make a historic transition to sustainable society."

Oxfam Australia's Executive Director, Mr. Andrew Hewett, presented the views of his organization relating to issues such as the role of local communities in planning development, the protection of water resources and transparency.

"Oxfam believes that mining can contribute o sustainable development, that it can help people find a pathway out of poverty and contribute to their enjoyment of basic human rights," Mr. Hewett said to the meeting.

"Oxfam Australia takes a rights based approach to development and has worked with communities affected by mining for more than a decade. We are neither pro nor anti mining."

Other speakers at the dialogue included the Minister for Mining from Peru, Mr. Juan Valdivia Romero, and the Deputy Minister of Energy and Resources from Korea, Mr. Kim Shin-Jong.

The Plenary session of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 14, followed by Sustainable Development Workshops for the mining sector on February 15. Ministers will take part in a field visit to the Alcoa Australia alumina mine and refining facility on Friday.

Further information about MRM3 is available at: www.mrm3.apec.org



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Sustainable mining offers the greatest opportunity to eradicate poverty in the APEC regions, Australian Industry, Tourism and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said today.

Mr. Macfarlane said demand for minerals and energy not only gave economies the opportunity to develop economic capacity, but also to improve general living standards.

"Greater urbanisation in ecnomies such as China has increased demand for resources and energy worldwide, directly improving living standards," Mr. Macfarlane said.

"It's a very simple equation: without energy, economies cannot improve their citizens' lives. Sustainable mining is all about maximising social benefit and minimising social cost."

Mr. Macfarlane is the first APEC Mining Minister to invite business and industry leaders to the APEC meetings, a practice he hopes will become a feature of APEC mining forums.

"I have worked closely with the mining and resources sector and understand the concerns and needs of industry. Without their direct involvement we can't get a complete picture."

"The diversity of interests represented in the forum today - from Ministers, to companies and NGOs - shows we are interested in more than the fundamentals of mining.

"The presence of industry and civil society leaders sets a precedent. It has enabled Mining Ministers and mining companies to gain a complete picture of how we can maximise the benefits of the resources boom.

"Mining companies are more aware than ever of their social and environmental responsibilities."

"Increasingly, companies and economies are working to improve mining practices, incorporating social and environmental costs into mining projects and creating real value for communities and future generations," Mr Macfarlane said.

News photographs from the Third APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting are available for download and use by the media.

Further information about MRM3 is available at: www.mrm3.apec.org



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Issued by the Third APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting

The Third Meeting of APEC Ministers for Mining began its Plenary Session today with opening comments by the Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP, the Chair of the Meeting, and Australia's Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources.

Webcast

Mr. Macfarlane's opening comments are available for download as a video or audio webcast:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/2007/52f.aspx

Speech by Ambassador Colin Heseltine, the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/2007/53f.aspx



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APEC Mining Ministers meeting in Perth this week have agreed to work on breaking down the barriers to greater trade and investment in the minerals and metals sector.

The Joint Ministerial Statement from today's Plenary Session is available for download here:

 http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/Ministerial-Statements/Mining/2007_mining.aspx

"APEC Ministers will analyse the effects that free trade in minerals and metals would have on the sector and explore practical ways to increase trade and investment opportunities," said Australian Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Hon. Ian Macfarlane MP.

"This study will include recommendations from industry attendees at the forum, aiming to enhance the government-industry partnership approach already adopted in Australia."

At today's meeting, Ministers also agreed that cooperation and consultation will overcome significant challenges confronting resources security throughout APEC economies.

"We discussed regulatory frameworks and agreed they should not be unduly prescriptive, but should strive to establish performance goals and outcomes."

In keeping with these objectives, Ministers will also explore greater regional economic integration.

"An important outcome was wider acknowledgement that trends and drivers of mineral markets in APEC economies differed between commodities, and that Ministers could improve transparency by making more exploration data available to the market.

"We agreed to the 10 APEC Mining Policy Principles, committing to stewardship of the industry and to delivering important business improvements in mining."

The Ministers also agreed increased participation and employment of Indigenous communities in mining was to be encouraged and that industry must be engaged to address the mining skills shortage common to all APEC economies.

"The meeting of Mining Ministers has been a great success and the fact we have come so far in such a short time highlights the incredible work that has been undertaken before and during this forum," Mr. Macfarlane said.

The meeting continues tomorrow with a series of sustainable development workshops for the mining sector followed by a field visit to the Alcoa Australia alumina mine and refining facility on Friday.

News photographs from the Third APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting are available for download and use by the media here:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Photos/2007/20070214_aus_mrm3plenaryopcomments



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Issued by the APEC Business Advisory Council

Senior business leaders from around the Asia-Pacific will meet in Seattle over the coming week to look at options for strengthening business environment in the Asia Pacific region from a variety of perspectives.

Discussions will cover a wide range of issues that are critical to maintaining robust growth in APEC economies. These will include strengthening regulatory environments and the adoption of more comprehensive standards, improving transparency and fighting corruption, strengthening financial markets, supporting SME growth, strengthening intellectual property protection, and encouraging innovation.

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is made up of leading business representatives that are chosen by the Leaders of APEC Member Economies.

The Seattle meeting will take place on February 25-28.

For media, event organizers can make arrangements for press interviews with the Council's leadership and other members upon request. A Photo opportunity is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26, at the Grand Hyatt Seattle.

This will be the first of three ABAC meetings taking place around the region in 2007 to look at ways to improve regional trade and to prepare a series of recommendations that will be presented to APEC Leaders when they meet in Sydney, Australia, in September.

The recommendations for Leaders will provide a number of ideas from business relating to further improving the business environment, and helping to ensure continued strong economic growth in the region.

APEC's 21 Member Economies account for over half of global output and trade and are home to 60% of the world's population.

Additional information is available at: www.abaconline.org



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Issued by the 14th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting

Big business may be the largest energy users but it is small and medium enterprises which are contributing to innovative energy efficiency solutions, an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference will be told next week.

The Australian Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Fran Bailey, said that SMEs are actively developing innovative solutions and services that can deliver big advances in the battle to cut greenhouse emissions.

To illustrate the point, Ms Bailey has invited two Australian SMEs which are utilising newly-developed energy-saving technologies to present workshops at the 14th APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Hobart, Tasmania, from 4-9 March.

One of the companies, Petratherm Ltd, was established in 2003 with the aim of producing economically-viable geothermal energy as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. This energy source is free from greenhouse gas emissions and is capable of providing constant power to supply base-load electricity constantly.

The other company, Energetics Pty Ltd, is one of the world's leading innovators in energy management practices. As a SME with 70 employees, the company has developed leading edge and innovative solutions for reducing energy costs and efficiency for a wide range of clients in the manufacturing, commercial, mining/minerals, government, energy and water-utility sectors.

Fran Bailey said that the workshops were designed to give the APEC conference a very practical "hands-on" element. The 200 delegates who have registered for the conference, which has the theme "Driving SME growth through economic reform" would also visit successful SME operations in Tasmania, and would also exchange information on effective Government programs to promote the small business sector.

"There are 1.9 million SMEs in Australia alone, and 49 million in the 21 member economies in APEC," Fran Bailey said. "It is the SME sector which is the most dynamic sector of the economy."

"By their very nature, they have to be so flexible that it is where the innovation occurs and big business is looking more and more to this sector to find the solution that it needs to become, for example, more energy-efficient in the future."

In addition to growth, innovation and climate change issues, the meeting will focus on measures to cut costs to SMEs and reducing 'red tape' (over-regulation); and tackling barriers to exports.



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Ambassador Juan Carlos Capuñay has begun his appointment as the Deputy Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat which is based in Singapore. Ambassador Capuñay will serve as Deputy during the current APEC year hosted by Australia and becomes the 16th Executive Director when Peru hosts APEC in 2008.

On assuming his position Ambassador Capuñay said he looked forward to a successful conclusion of the current APEC year that will culminate with the APEC Leaders Meeting in Sydney in September.

"APEC is a process whereby each year achieves a set of outcomes and sets the direction for the year ahead," Ambassador Capuñay said from Singapore.

"The Leaders of APEC Member Economies will meet in Sydney this year to review progress and to provide the direction and set work plans for 2008 when I am charged with leading the Secretariat.

"The 2007 APEC agenda includes a number of major issues for the region including structural reform in the regional economy, energy security and APEC reform."

Ambassador Capuñay has served as a diplomat in the Peruvian Foreign Service since 1972 in a number of positions around the Asia-Pacific including postings to China, Singapore, Japan and the United Nations.
Until his appointment as Deputy Executive Director Ambassador Capuñay was Peru's Senior Official to APEC for four years.

The APEC Secretariat is based in Singapore and operates as the core support mechanism for the APEC process. It provides coordination, technical and advisory support as well as information management, communications and public outreach services.



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The United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to provide US$500,000 to support capacity building projects across the Asia-Pacific region.

Ambassador Michael Michalak, the APEC Senior Official from the United States, announced that the initial contribution of half a million dollars would be the first of several contributions to APEC in 2007 and 2008.

"In recognition of APEC's role as the premier economic forum in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. President [George W.] Bush announced in 2006 that the United States would commit to doubling our support of APEC activities to roughly US$5 million per year, starting in 2007," Ambassador Michalak said.

The initial U.S. contribution agreed upon in Singapore will be directed to the APEC Support Fund. It enables APEC to conduct economic and technical cooperation activities in such areas as health security, anti-corruption, and human resources development. Economic and technical cooperation, a pillar of APEC activities, complements APEC's trade and investment liberalization and facilitation agenda.

Michalak linked the U.S. announcement with efforts to reform APEC that began at the Leaders Meeting in Hanoi in November 2006.

"In Hanoi last year, President Bush and the other APEC leaders welcomed plans to strengthen and streamline APEC," Michalak said.

"The U.S. contribution will help us to achieve our goal of a stronger APEC in the years ahead."

The US$500,000 contribution from the United States provides a substantial increase to the fund which has seen contributions from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, and Korea since its inception.

The APEC Support Fund was established in 2005 to meet capacity building needs in high priority sectors relating to economic and social development. The Fund supports projects for developing member economies in the APEC region.



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APEC small and medium enterprises will be the focus of a ministerial meeting beginning in Hobart today.

The 14th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting is bringing together representatives of APEC's 21 Member Economies to discuss the latest initiatives and practices to develop and grow around 49 million businesses in the APEC Region.

The Hon. Fran Bailey MP, Australia's Minister for Small Business and Tourism, highlighted issues to be considered at the SME Ministerial Meeting.

"High on our agenda will be the actions taken to support small business initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions by developing a more energy-efficient sector," Ms. Bailey said at the start of the meeting.

"The meeting will showcase examples of Australian ingenuity that are taking these steps.

"We are also looking at ways that we can make it easier to start and grow a business, as well as best-practice initiatives we can introduce to cut costs and save time for SMEs."

Other issues to be addressed include cutting red tape, encouraging innovation and tackling barriers to exports.

The theme of the meeting is 'Driving SME Growth through Economic Reform.'

The ministerial meeting will begin later this afternoon with the first informal reception for ministers hosted by the Premier of the State of Tasmania, the Hon. Paul Lennon.

A ministerial forum and plenary meeting will be held on Thursday, followed by a concluding plenary meeting on Friday and the release of the Joint Ministerial Statement.

The last APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Meeting was held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in September 2006.



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APEC economies will soon see substantial benefits flowing from outcomes of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ministerial Meeting in Hobart which ended today.

Key outcomes of the 14th SME Ministerial Meeting include:

Pursuing SME innovation to promote more energy efficient industry solutions

Working harder on making common practice best practice including improving knowledge amongst SMEs of the business assistance programs available to them

Reducing transaction costs and red tape imposed by governments

Encouraging the use of e-commerce and online transactions with government

"SMEs are a substantial source of wealth for the region and this meeting has examined a wide range of practical ideas and initiatives to help this sector grow and prosper. In helping it grow we are contributing to the wellbeing of our communities across the APEC region," the Chair of the meeting and Australia's Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Hon. Fran Bailey said today.

"This meeting was especially significant as delegates were able to see first hand how innovation can drive productivity and protect the environment."

Minister Bailey thanked Hobart for hosting the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting.

"Tasmania was a wonderful host and I am thrilled that images of Tasmania have been beamed across 21 APEC economies.

"Having Tasmania seen by such a huge potential audience will deliver an enormous boost to the local tourism industry and the small businesses that are part of it."

Fran Bailey said the lessons learned from Hobart would be put into practice almost immediately and some of the initial results would be reported on at next year's APEC meeting in Peru.

The Joint Ministerial Statement and News Photographs from the meeting is available for download.

The 14th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting was held in Hobart on March 8-9. The next APEC SME Ministerial Meeting will be held in Chiclayo, Peru, in September 2008.



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APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers (SME) have launched a Pandemic Flu Planning Guide for Small Businesses. The guide is intended as a straightforward checklist to help businesses to plan ahead and protect their staff and businesses in the event of a pandemic flu.

Presenting the guide to the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting for endorsement today, Ms. Lisa Koonin from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlighted the importance of small business planning before a pandemic occurs.

"All businesses will be affected in the event of a pandemic flu," Ms. Koonin said at the SME Working Group Meeting.

"Often SMEs are the least prepared to deal with emergencies such as a pandemic outbreak, and if people wait until the last minute to plan, it will be too late.

"People can plan right now to protect themselves, their families, and their businesses from pandemic flu and we hope this planning guide will provide the basis of this preparedness."

To ensure simplicity the guide is separated into three sections that cover the areas of making plans to stay in business, protect employees' health and make preparations in their homes.

"Businesses should also identify what protections might be in place to ensure the safety of staff in the workplace," Ms. Koonin said.

This includes ensuring that staff who are sick do not come to work and expose others to the illness, planning to prevent people from congregating in large groups, and promoting good hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing."

"Businesses operators also need to look at how they will deal with the interruptions to their business in the event of a pandemic flu. This includes preparing plans for dealing with supply chains disruptions, planning for employees being unable to come to work (due to personal or family illness, or school closure) and the possibility of reduced sales if customers choose to stay away from shops and public places.

"Finally, preparation for SME operators and employees should start with being prepared at home, including making sure there is a good supply of resources at home, such as water and non-perishable food, soap, flashlights, and other essential goods."

The APEC Pandemic Flu Planning Guide was prepared in conjunction with the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The one page guide is available in English, with Member Economies encouraged to translate into other languages. The guide and a news photograph of Ms. Koonin are available for download and use by the media from the APEC website.

The 14th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting was held in Hobart on March 8-9.



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Hobart, Australia, 09 March 2007

APEC Pandemic Flu Planning Guide

PDF Download [130kb]

[https://www]

Ms. Lisa Koonin
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention



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The APEC Transportation Ministers' Meeting this week will work towards strengthening transport security across the region against the threat of further terrorist attacks, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, said in preparation for the meeting.

Mr Vaile, who will chair the ministerial meeting, said a key aim for APEC was building the capacity of all economies to create an environment for the secure and efficient movement of passengers and freight across the region.

"The economic impact of a terrorist attack involving a large passenger aircraft in Australia is estimated to be around $30 billion. The meeting of APEC Transportation Ministers in Adelaide on 28-30 March offers an opportunity to work together to protect our transport systems from the threat of terrorism," Mr Vaile said.

"The networked nature of the region's transport system means that attacks in one economy can have far reaching ramifications for other economies, so improving preventative security in the transport sector is an important challenge for all economies in the region.

"Cooperation, collaboration and capacity building offer significant opportunities for all economies to enhance their transport security frameworks.

"For example, developing comprehensive transport security strategies that focus on the international intermodal movement of cargo door-to-door, and in particular focusing on the high-risk transfer points is an important economic priority for the economy.

"This could also extend to joint development projects that may lead to improved consistency in standards, identify good practice and the development of capability programmes that would economically benefit all APEC economies.

"It is important that the APEC economies continue to work together to enhance the region's transport security capacity by identifying best practices, sharing information and training programs.

"Good examples of these collaborative approaches so far have been work led by Singapore on total supply chain security, a joint Australian-Indonesian project on aviation security and an enhanced ongoing model visit program in relation to internal maritime standards.

"The latest focus of global aviation security is on liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs), and each country is adopting slightly different requirements on slightly different timetables. In Australia, new security measures for LAGs come into effect from 31 March 2007. The security outcome is paramount but greater cooperation between APEC economies on LAGs issues will allow a more seamless experience for passengers," Mr. Vaile said.



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Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, who is the Chair of the 5th APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting. The Hon. Mark Vaile, spoke to journalists on the eve of the meeting. Audio from his comments is available for download and use by the media.

[https://www]

Audio webcast (MP3, 3.5 MB) 



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Speech presented by the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat is available for download as a video file.

Speech by Ambassador Colin Heseltine

 

 

 http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/2007/55f.aspx

 

 

 The 5th APEC Transportation Ministers' Meeting is being held in Adelaide, Australia, on March 29-30.



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Aviation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Discussed by Transportation Ministers

Adelaide, Australia, 29 March 2007

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, who is the Chair of the 5th APEC Transportation Ministers Meeting. The Hon. Mark Vaile, spoke to journalists during the meeting today.

Mr. Vaile provided background on Transport Ministers discussions of measures proposed to reduce the production of greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector.

Mr. Vaile's comments are available for download and use by the media.

[https://www]

http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/54f.aspx



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APEC Leaders have released a statement on the Doha Development Agenda round of World Trade Organization negotiations.

The text is as follows:

STATEMENT ON THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA OF THE WTO

We, the APEC Economic Leaders, celebrate Vietnam's accession to the WTO and the completion of a major milestone towards Russia's admission to the WTO. We intend to build on the energy and momentum generated by these historic events to meet the challenges we confront in the Doha Round.

We reaffirm our collective and individual commitments to concluding an ambitious and balanced WTO Doha agreement. To meet this goal, we have an urgent need to break the current deadlock and to put the negotiations back on a path towards a timely conclusion. A successful Doha Round will contribute to global economic growth and to the alleviation of poverty. It must do so by creating new trade flows and by effectively addressing the development dimension.

APEC economies have a proud tradition of leadership on WTO matters. We are determined to resume without further delay negotiations to achieve a balanced and ambitious outcome that works for all WTO Members. Although agriculture remains the key to resolving the current impasse, we need to build an overall package covering market access for industrial goods and services, rules and trade facilitation.

We are ready to break the current deadlock: each of us is committed to moving beyond our current positions in key areas of the Round. That means making deeper reductions in trade-distorting farm support by major players, creating new market access in agriculture, making real cuts in industrial tariffs, and establishing new openings in services trade, while dealing seriously with Members' concerns and sensitivities. All APEC Members are ready to lead, but others also must signal their readiness and resolve.

APEC's future is inextricably linked to a strong and vibrant multilateral trading system. We will remain personally involved to ensure that negotiations are resumed and will ensure the necessary flexibility and ambition to secure a breakthrough. We urge our partners in other regions to be similarly bold and engaged.

APEC Leaders began their annual two-day meeting in Ha Noi this afternoon with an informal retreat that included a meeting with the APEC Business Advisory Council. Leaders will attend a formal dinner in the evening and conclude the meeting tomorrow morning and release the Leaders' declaration in the afternoon.

The APEC CEO Summit is also taking place during the Leaders' Meeting and has involved several Leaders delivering speeches and taking part in interactive forums with delegates.



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China has announced that it will make a US$2 million donation to the APEC Support Fund (ASF) to strengthen APEC's capacity building initiatives.

The funding was announced by President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China at the 14th APEC Economic Leader's Meeting in Ha Noi today.

President Hu said: "Economic and technical cooperation is an important means to narrow the development gap and promote common prosperity. In recent year, a number of new problems and challenges have emerged in the areas of financial security, energy security and public health security. Many APEC members lack adequate experience and capability to respond to them."

During his address at the leader's retreat, President Hu called for increased input to help developing Member Economies of APEC boost their international competitiveness and capacity to meet global challenges.

Speaking after the announcement by President Hu, China's Senior Official to the APEC Process, Wang Xiaolong, said: "China is an active participant in all economic and technical (ECOTECH) related capacity building initiatives. Now with enlarged areas of cooperation, development efforts require an expansion in the provision of available resources.

"China's contribution to the ASF will promote cooperation in high priority ECOTECH sectors, and help developing economies in their efforts to promote economic development and prosperity."

The funding from China will be allocated over three years from 2007 to 2009.

Designed by Australia, the ASF was launched in 2005 with a contribution of AU$3 million by Australia to be dispersed over three years.

The objective of the ASF is to provide a flexible funding mechanism to support capacity building activities for APEC developing economies. Since it was established, donations from other economies have been pledged that have funded a number of quality projects in areas such as energy, human resources development, and human security.

These projects have not only met the demand for capacity building in developing economies, but also put APEC region in a better position to meet the emerging challenges of globalization.



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As part of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting program, Leaders from APEC Member Economies met with members of the business community at the annual APEC CEO Summit. Leaders and delegates discussed the challenges of creating an Asia Pacific community, APEC's priorities and challenges for the future.

In his address to delegates, Dr. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the APEC CEO Summit 2006, said, "The APEC CEO Summit will be another opportunity for business leaders to deliberate on the most imperative issues that will advance APEC towards a community of sustainable development.

"We believe that Asia-Pacific business leaders will discover abundant business and investment opportunities in Viet Nam, one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Participants heard from several APEC Economic Leaders over the past few days who stressed the importance of pursuing policies that promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong offered lessons from east Asian economies which have successfully competed for foreign direct investment. "Besides embracing globalization, economies need to create a predictable macroeconomic environment. And there should be a fair and competitive economic landscape. Pursuing micro and macroeconomic reforms, governments cannot rush into the process. Government must build consensus with key players," said Prime Minister Lee.

"Governments need to build sustainability for the future. It means building sound institutions and preventing corruption.

"When governments get together in forums such as APEC, our key responsibility is to secure cross-border flows and to mitigate risks. This is the challenge for our economies," concluded Prime Minister Lee.

But sustaining economic reforms presents challenges for governments and business. Both Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark provided case studies from their respective economies. Chile and New Zealand are linked through the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, a multilateral trade agreement that also includes Singapore and Brunei.

Both Leaders recognized that measured changes are preferable to radical upheavals to achieve structural and economic reforms.

"The main idea is to be responsible so that our people will see benefits in a sustainable way," said President Bachelet.

Confirming President Bachelet's suggestions, Prime Minister Clark said, "New Zealand is better positioned now to respond to economic challenges as they arise.

"Our agriculture is not subsidized. We do not support it through distortionary policies. We know we have to be strategic, smart, and skilled to take our economy through the 21st century.

"Steady ongoing change and transformation delivers more sustainable results for the long run," said Prime Minister Clark.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shared America's vision for APEC which transcends simple cooperation, and looks to the emergence of a true Asia-Pacific Economic Community, spanning the public sphere and the private sector.

"Since the creation of APEC, the combined wealth of our economies has grown by 66%. Today, nearly two-thirds of all U.S. trade occurs with our friends in the Asia-Pacific. And the benefits on this side of the ocean are plain for all to see: people in this region are lifting themselves out of poverty in greater numbers and with greater speed than ever before in human history.

"In order to foster trade, we must also facilitate travel. Therefore, the United States has decided this year to recognize the APEC Business Travel Card, as the first step toward joining the program. This will enable entrepreneurs like you to gain visas, to move through our immigration lines, and to visit America - in a faster, safer, easier manner," said Secretary Rice. The APEC Business Travel Card provides cardholders with pre-cleared short-term entry into participating APEC Member Economies.

Officials also heard from Australia Prime Minister John Howard, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Malaysia Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Thailand Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Viet Nam President Nguyen Minh Triet.

"We should remind ourselves that more needs to be done to achieve our common goal of a secure and prosperous regional community in which trade, investment and technology flow freely," concluded Dr. Loc in his closing remarks.



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The 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting concluded successfully with the second retreat today.

In their annual two-day meeting chaired by Viet Nam's President Nguyen Minh Triet, Leaders of 21 APEC economies discussed the theme "Towards One Dynamic Community for Sustainable Development and Prosperity" in two umbrella topics: 
Advancing trade and investment in a changing world, and 
Fundamentals ensuring dynamism, growth, and sustainable development in APEC. 
The following documents can now be downloaded from the APEC Website:
- Ha Noi Declaration
- Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap towards the Bogor Goals
- Statement on the Doha Development Agenda of the WTO

Following are the major outcomes of the meeting:
Expressing their strong preferences for a timely conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda round of WTO negotiations with an ambitious and overall balanced outcome, Leaders issued a separate statement on this issue that includes practical measures to resume the negotiations.

Leaders also endorsed the Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap, viewing this as a foundation for APEC economic and trade cooperation in the next 15 years.

Leaders also endorsed recommendations to reform APEC to make the forum more vibrant, dynamic and effective.

With unanimous agreement that terrorism poses a grave threat to peace and security in the world and the region, Leaders reiterated commitment to promoting cooperation to alleviate and eventually eliminate this danger. The meeting also welcomed counter-terrorism initiatives that have been agreed upon by APEC this year.

At the meeting Leaders agreed to expand and enhance cooperation in pandemic and disaster management and energy security to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people in the region.

Leaders endorsed the 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting Statement and the statements of sectoral ministerial meetings this year.

Leaders issued the Hanoi Declaration of the 14th AELM which reaffirms their endorsement of the outcomes of APEC 2006 and the future development of the forum.

Leaders also discussed issues and recent developments of common concern in the region.

News photos are available here:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Photos/2006/20061116_vn_ammd2_photos.aspx

http://www.apec.org/Press/Photos/2006/20061119_vn_aelmconcludesphotos.aspx

 



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Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with APEC to provide AU$4 million to help developing APEC economies bolster their defences against emerging and infectious diseases such as Avian Influenza.

This contribution to the APEC Support Fund will be used for capacity building projects including preparedness planning, surveillance and reporting.

These funds will strengthen coordination and response mechanisms, build effective and transparent regional communication systems, and develop business continuity and recovery plans.

Australia has been proactive in providing support to regional neighbours to ensure the protection of the region against the threat of pandemics and other emerging infectious diseases.

The AU$4 million contribution forms part of an AU$10 million commitment made by Australia at APEC 2005 to support APEC initiatives to combat Avian and Pandemic Influenza. Other elements were AU$4 million for simulations and to create a register of experts for rapid response; and AU$2 million to strengthen linkages between Australian institutions and their counterparts in developing APEC economies.

In preparation for the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics in Viet Nam earlier this year, Australia hosted a high-level APEC meeting on avian influenza in Brisbane that brought together principal pandemic and disaster management coordinators from APEC economies along with health and quarantine experts.

Australia also hosted a major simulation exercise in June designed to test communication in the event of a human influenza pandemic within the APEC region that involved the active participation of all APEC Member Economies.

The APEC Support Fund was established in 2004 through an initial AU$3 million contribution from Australia to meet capacity building needs in high priority sectors relating to economic and social development. The Fund supports projects for developing member economies in the APEC region.



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When APEC Economic Leaders met today in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, they resolved to identify specific actions and milestones to implement the Bogor Goals and support capacity-building measures to help APEC economies meet their commitments to free and open trade and investment.

The Ha Noi Action Plan, which was endorsed by APEC Economic Leaders, contains concrete measures to be taken in five key areas, including: 1) support for the multilateral trading system; 2) strengthening individual and collective actions by member economies; 3) promotion of high-quality Regional Trade Arrangements (RTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs); 4) the Busan Business Agenda and 5) economic and technical cooperation.

In particular, the Ha Noi Action Plan emphasizes capacity-building measures to help APEC economies prepare to meet their Bogor commitments of free and open trade and investment.

Among other things, the Plan calls for APEC to remain committed to restarting multilateral negotiations and achieving a breakthrough to bring the Doha Development Round negotiations to a successful conclusion with ambitious and balanced outcomes. APEC members will also continue to conduct capacity building activities across the full range of areas to enhance economies' understanding of WTO agreements and obligations.

Member economies committed to strengthening individual and collective actions plans to promote free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. Economies' progress and commitments to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation are peer-reviewed on a rotational basis.

To prevent complexities in RTAs/FTAs and to reduce transactions costs to business, Leaders committed to complete by 2008 comprehensive model measures, which are useful references for trade negotiating teams. While neither mandatory nor exhaustive, the measures are a guide to the kind of provisions that might be included in an FTA to ensure their high-quality and comprehensiveness and to serve as building blocks to the multilateral trading system.

The Ha Noi Action Plan also sets out to improve substantially the environment for business and reduce unnecessary barriers to business activity with the goal of reducing business transaction costs by 5% by 2010. Member economies will focus their activities on trade and investment facilitation, transparency and behind-the-border regulations and administrative procedures.

Finally, by strengthening economic and technical cooperation activities APEC member economies will promote sustainable growth and shared development while assuring advancement towards free and open trade and investment in the region.

The Ha Noi Action Plan also includes an annex of key deliverables undertaken by APEC Member Economies in 2006.

Based on five major principles set out by Leaders, the Ha Noi Action Plan is strategic to enhance the vision and credibility of APEC; multi-year to ensure continuity and consistency; action-oriented to encourage the implementation process; realistic to yield tangible outcomes; and time-bound to track implementation progress.

The Ha Noi Action Plan is available for download.



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,
The Government of Viet Nam has presented a replica of the Dong Son Bronze Drum to the APEC Secretariat in Singapore as an expression of appreciation for the Secretariat's role in the successful completion of APEC 2006 hosted by Viet Nam.

News photographs are available for download here:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Photos/2006/20061222_sg_bronzedrumgiftphotos.aspx

Ambassador Mr. Nguyen Thanh Chau, head of the Vietnamese Delegation, praised the Secretariat's contribution to the success of APEC year 2006 and presented the drum to the Secretariat on behalf of the Vietnamese Government to the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan.

In receiving the gift Ambassador Toan said the Secretariat is once again proud to serve the host economy of what has been a particularly successful APEC year.

"It is only one month since APEC Leaders, Ministers and Officials met in Ha Noi for what is the most important event on the region's annual political calendar," Ambassador Toan said during the presentation of the drum.

"The Ha Noi Declaration, the accompanying Ha Noi Action Plan to Implement the Busan Roadmap Towards the Bogor Goals and the APEC Reform package are the most important outcomes that will enhance APEC cooperation for sustainable development and prosperity of the APEC region.

"It has been an immense pleasure for the APEC Secretariat to contribute to the success of APEC 2006".

Ambassador Toan congratulated Viet Nam for the successful conclusion of the APEC year 2006 and thanked the Government of Viet Nam for the meaningful gift presented to the Secretariat.

The Dong Son Bronze Drum is a reflection of the special cultural characteristics of the ancient Viet people. The first drum was invented three thousands years ago in northern Viet Nam by the Lac Viet, the remote ancestors of the Vietnamese people.

Made for religious ceremonies, rallying men for war, or for other secular roles, the drums were decorated with rich and well composed images of objects, humans and animals. Together these images provided a lively description of the Dong Son society and its people, their daily chores, spiritual life and ceremonial activities.

The Dong Son drums exhibit the advanced techniques and great skill in the lost-wax casting of large objects, which reached the level of artistic perfection.

"Signifying an important part of Vietnamese culture, the image of Dong Son Bronze Drum will now be housed in the Secretariat building along with gifts from other APEC members. Those items represent the rich and diverse culture of our region and contribute to enhancing the sense of an APEC community", said Ambassador Toan.



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The incoming Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat expects APEC to make important progress in 2007 on key global economic issues as Australia becomes APEC host for the year. Ambassador Colin Heseltine, a career diplomat from Australia, will become APEC's 15th Executive Director on 1 January 2007.

Ambassador Heseltine said APEC's key economic and trade priorities in 2007 will be reactivating the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations, addressing critical energy issues, progressing structural reform and behind-the border issues and promoting high-quality regional free trade agreements and trade facilitation. He noted that for the first time APEC would, following a decision at the APEC Leaders Meeting in Ha Noi in November 2006, consider means to promote greater regional economic integration, including a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific as a long term prospect.

He also noted that APEC's work on human security issues including counter-terrorism, total supply chain security and health and emergency preparedness would remain a major focal point in 2007.

Ambassador Heseltine said APEC reform would be an important focus during the year following the strong mandate from APEC Leaders in 2006 to renew efforts to make the organization more efficient and results-oriented. Noting that APEC was returning to where it began 18 years ago, when Australia was the first host, Heseltine said the region and its members now faced a vastly more complex environment than in 1989. "Not just symbolically, but in a real and practical sense, this is an important time to reinvigorate the organization and to ensure its continuing capacity to deal with new challenges in the Asia-Pacific region", he said.

Delegates will meet in venues throughout Australia in 2007 beginning with the Senior Officials' Meeting in Canberra from 15-18 January. This will set APEC's work program for implementing APEC Leaders' decisions agreed in Ha Noi. Seven meetings at ministerial level in a wide range of sectors will be held during the year. The major event of the APEC year, the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, will be held in Sydney from 8-9 September.

Ambassador Heseltine succeeds Ambassador Tran Trong Toan who served as APEC Executive Director during the APEC Viet Nam year in 2006. Each year the Executive Director is appointed by the host economy.

Ambassador Heseltine has served in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 1969. His appointments have included Ambassador to Korea, Senior Representative in Taipei and Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing.



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APEC Senior Officials will begin their first meetings for the 2007 APEC year hosted by Australia next week on January 15.

The series of meetings that will continue until January 26 will cover a range of issues that are important for the ongoing economic heath and development of the Asia-Pacific.

The Senior Officials Meeting will address many of the issues raised by APEC Leaders in Ha Noi last year including dealing with behind-the-border barriers to trade, energy security and the prospect of developing a Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific in the years ahead.

Areas that will be discussed at other supporting meetings include counter terrorism, intellectual property rights, agricultural biotechnology, and health and preparations to deal with a potential Avian Influenza pandemic.

The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Colin Heseltine, highlighted the importance of a successful APEC process to economic growth and prosperity in the region.

"We face quite different challenges now compared with 1989 as the impact of globalization, greater economic integration and freer movement of goods, people and capital brings enormous benefits to the region but also makes doing business much more complex," Ambassador Heseltine said from Singapore.

"APEC must ensure that its agenda is able to meet these challenges in a highly focused and coherent way."

The Senior Officials Meeting in Canberra will return APEC to the same venue where its first meeting was held in 1989.

The meeting will be the first of a number of events that will draw delegates from each of APEC's 21 Member Economies and culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Sydney on September 8-9.

Senior representatives from APEC will be available for interview in the lead-up to and during the meetings.




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APEC begins its 2007 schedule tomorrow with a return to the same meeting room that hosted the first APEC meeting in 1989.

Senior Officials from APEC's 21 Member Economies will meet in the R.G. Casey Building in Canberra to oversee the implementation of directions issued by APEC Leaders and Ministers in 2006, and begin preparations for the major meetings at the conclusion of the 2007 APEC Year.

The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Colin Heseltine, said the return of APEC to Australia is an important milestone for APEC.

"Most APEC economies have now hosted APEC and the return of APEC to Australia for 2007 is symbolic of the longevity of the organization," Ambassador Heseltine said from Canberra.

"A great deal has changed in the global economy since the formation of APEC at the end of the Cold War.

"Over the past 18 years the role of APEC has evolved and expanded to include a wide range of issues that are relevant to economic growth and the well being of the people in the region.

"The APEC region is now home to 2.6 billion people and accounts for around half of total global trade.

"We have seen great success in the work of APEC economies to reduce barriers to trade with average trade tariffs falling from 17% in 1988 to 6% in 2004

"Now APEC is increasing its focus on removing the typically unseen or behind-the-border impediments to trade such as corruption, a lack of transparency and needless bureaucracy."

Ambassador Heseltine said the Senior Officials Meeting tomorrow will confirm a number of the initiatives and projects that are targeted for completion by the major APEC events of the year, the 19th APEC Ministerial Meeting and the 15th APEC Leaders Meeting in Sydney in September.

Issues on the agenda for the Senior Officials' Meeting include structural reform in the regional economy, human capacity building, emergency preparedness and energy security.

A number of other meetings are scheduled to take place in conjunction with the Senior Officials' Meeting covering a number of sectoral responsibilities. Four economies will also be the first members to have their progress to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals reviewed for 2007. Independent progress reports on the economic achievements of Australia, Hong Kong China, Japan and Chinese Taipei will be tabled and each of these economies will face a peer review session that will include questions posed by other economies.



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China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the APEC Secretariat for the donation of US$2 million to be used on APEC capacity building projects.

Signed on the first day of APEC 2007 meetings in Australia, the funding from China will be administered by the APEC Support Fund (ASF). The donation will be used to support projects in areas such as skills development, ensuring environmentally sound growth and strengthening the dynamism of small and medium enterprises.

The contribution was announced by China's President Hu Jintao, during the APEC Leaders' meeting in Ha Noi last December. In announcing the contribution, President Hu noted the importance of cooperation between APEC Member Economies to deal with challenges posed by the global economy.

"Economic and technical cooperation is an important means to narrow the development gap and promote common prosperity. We should increase input, make our cooperation more effective and focused and help developing members of APEC improve their international competitiveness and their capacity to meet the challenges," President Hu said.

With the signing of the MOU by China's Senior Official to APEC, Mr. Wang Xiaolong, and the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Colin Heseltine, the funds will now be provided to the support fund and dispersed for a range of projects around the region.

Ambassador Heseltine welcomed the donation on behalf of APEC that he said would help a large number of people around the region.

"The APEC Support Fund is providing direct assistance to increase the skills and capacity of people in the Asia-Pacific to be competitive in the global economy," Ambassador Heseltine said at the MOU signing ceremony.

"APEC welcomes China's contribution to strengthen the fund."
Mr. Wang Xiaolong said: "China's contribution to the ASF will promote cooperation in high priority ECOTECH sectors, such as developing human capital, strengthening economic infrastructure, developing the dynamism of small and medium enterprises, and help developing economies in their efforts to promote economic development and prosperity. The quick realization of funding also reflects China's unremitting efforts in this regard and unwavering support in the development of APEC."

The ASF provides a flexible funding mechanism to support capacity building activities for APEC developing economies. Since it was established in 2005 donations from other economies have been pledged that have funded a number of quality projects in areas such as energy, human resources development, and human security.

News photographs are available for download and use by media organizations here.



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Canberra, Australia, January 17, 2007 -- An independent report has found that Chinese Taipei is making positive progress towards achieving APEC's free trade and investment goals.

The 'Study Report on Chinese Taipei's Independent Action Plan (IAP)' to achieve its APEC goals was prepared by Dr Junsok Yang, Associate Professor in Economics from the Catholic University of Korea, and Gloria Pasadilla, Research Fellow from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

The report looked at a range of areas that are part of Chinese Taipei's efforts to reach the APEC Bogor Goals, which set the target of free and open trade for industrialized economies by 2010 and 2020 for developing economies.

As one of the four Asian tigers and an APEC member since 1991, the report highlights the positive economic growth of the economy and describes Chinese Taipei as: "one of the most successful developing economies in the 20th century.

"In the current peer review report, we, the reviewers, found that Chinese Taipei has made significant progress toward the Bogor Goals."

The report explores the mechanics of Chinese Taipei's success stating: "Market liberalization has played a crucial part in the development of Chinese Taipei. For Chinese Taipei, exports have played the part of the engine of growth. Much of Chinese Taipei's economic growth has been driven by exports of manufactured goods such as textiles, electronics and IT products.

"Foreign investment, like foreign trade, also played a significant part in Chinese Taipei's development; indeed trade and investment were two faces of the same coin, two major pillars of its growth trajectory."

The report also noted the efforts of Chinese Taipei to achieve the APEC goals across a number of sectors: "Chinese Taipei believes that Bogor Goals is something that is to be continually striven for, rather than something that can be explicitly achieved.

"We found that Chinese Taipei made especially noteworthy improvement in customs procedures. The clearance time for cargo is among the shortest in all APEC member economies. Significant improvements have also been made in tariffs, investment, intellectual property rights, services, and government procurement."

A fact sheet with excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment is now available.

The full report is now available here.

All APEC Member Economies implement IAPs to guide them in their efforts to achieve APEC's Bogor Goals. The IAP review process program provides each Member Economy with the opportunity to have their progress towards APEC's goals assessed by Independent Experts.

Four APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Canberra. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Experts to a meeting of Member Economies followed by an opportunity for these economies to question the economy under review on the details of their IAP.

The review of Chinese Taipei's IAP took place in Canberra this morning.



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An independent report has found that Australia is on target to achieve its APEC goals of free trade and investment.

The 'Study Report on Australia's Individual Action Plan (IAP)' to achieve its APEC goals was prepared by Akira Kohsaka, Professor of Economics from Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan, and Daniel Schwanen, Director of Research, from the Center for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

The study was carried out in late 2006 and involved a broad-based evaluation of Australia's trade and economic policies with a view to assessing the likelihood of Australia reaching its APEC 'Bogor Goals' target. (The 1994 APEC Bogor Goals set a target of free and open trade for industrialized economies by 2010 and developing economies by 2020.)

Citing Australia's 15th consecutive year of uninterrupted economic expansion, which is the longest in Australia's history, the report stated: "Australia has made steady progress in trade liberalization and facilitation and it will be able to achieve the Bogor Goals."

The report notes the gains that have been made during the global resources boom and Australia's investment in domestic infrastructure. It concludes that: "Australia is successfully closing the productivity gap with other advanced economies thanks to its broad structural reforms in recent decades, the reform programs correctly continue to be implemented in export infrastructure, land transportation and electricity, and water."

In such areas as Tariffs, Non-tariff measures, Services, and Investment the report noted that: "Australia has implemented autonomous liberalization beyond its Uruguay Round commitments so that it will reach the Bogor target by 2010 with continued efforts along the same lines.

As regards trade facilitation, the report found that: "Australia has been taking a strong initiative in implementing collective action plans in Business Mobility and Customs Procedures.

"It has faithfully attained improvements in Standards and Conformance and Intellectual Property Rights. Australia has gone beyond many other APEC members in arranging and implementing competition policy and deregulation."

A fact sheet with excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment is now available. 

The full report is now available here.

All APEC Member Economies implement IAPs to guide them in their efforts to achieve APEC's Bogor Goals. The IAP review process program provides each Member Economy with the opportunity to have their progress towards APEC's goals assessed by their peers. The review by the Independent Experts assists Member Economies in this process.

Four APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Canberra. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Experts to a meeting of Member Economies, followed by an opportunity for these economies to question the economy under review on the details of their IAP.



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An independent report has highlighted Japan's role in promoting economic reform and contribution to capacity building in the APEC region.

The "Study Report on Japan's Individual Action Plan (IAP)" to achieve its APEC goals was prepared by Mr Robert Scollay, Director of the APEC Study Center at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and Ms Chia Siow Yue, Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

The report looked at range of areas that are part of Japan's efforts to reach the APEC Bogor Goals, which set the target of free and open trade for industrialized economies by 2010 and 2020 for developing economies.

Economic reform was given particular attention with the report stating: "Economic reform is a central preoccupation of the Japanese government as it strives to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth.

"The reform agenda touches virtually every aspect of economic policy. Important changes have been made to the economic policy process, designed to promote greater coherence in economic policy-making and to facilitate more effective decision-making and implementation of policy decisions."

Covering a number of trade related sectors, the IAP report noted key areas of economic reform taking place in Japan's economy: "In recent years Japan has placed special emphasis on supporting APEC's work in the areas of intellectual property, competition policy, structural reform, standards and conformance, and WTO capacity-building. "

An APEC Member Economy since 1989, the report made mention of Japan's long history of involvement with APEC activities: "As a founding member that played a leading role in the establishment of APEC, Japan attaches high importance to APEC, and has continued to provide important support to APEC's work.

"Japan has been an active contributor to the work of APEC fora and subfora, several of which it has chaired over the years. Japan's willingness to act as the major provider of funding for APEC projects also reflects the importance that it attaches to APEC. \

A fact sheet with excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment is now available.

The full report is now available here.

All APEC Member Economies implement IAPs to guide them in their efforts to achieve APEC's Bogor Goals. The IAP review process program provides each Member Economy with the opportunity to have their progress towards APEC's goals assessed by Independent Experts.

Four APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Canberra. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Experts to a meeting of Member Economies followed by an opportunity for these economies to question the economy under review on the details of their IAP. 



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An independent review of Hong Kong, China's progress to meet APEC's free trade and investment goals has cited the strength of Hong Kong, China in the regional and global economy.

The 'Study Report on Hong Kong, China's 2006 Individual Action Plan (IAP)' to achieve its APEC goals was prepared by Dr. Charles A. Barrett from Canada and Professor Sung-Hoon Park from Korea.

The report looked at a range of areas that are part of Hong Kong, China's efforts to reach the APEC Bogor Goals, which set the target of free and open trade for industrialized economies by 2010 and 2020 for developing economies.

The report identified Hong Kong, China as one of the most liberal and open economies in the world, strongly committed to the multilateral trading system and actively engaged in the APEC community. The report stated: "Hong Kong, China has long maintained a free-market economy and a liberal trade and investment regime. On its way towards the Bogor Goals, HKC has shown remarkable progress in a number of IAP areas, and has established itself as a 'model member economy' in trade and investment liberalization and facilitation (TILF).

"Hong Kong, China's trade and investment regime provides a 'model' against which many other APEC member economies can benchmark their efforts as they progress towards the Bogor Goals.

"Overall, Hong Kong, China can be considered the APEC member economy that is closest to achieving the Bogor Goals at the moment."

The report made mention of Hong Kong, China's liberal trade and investment regime: "Hong Kong, China currently applies no tariffs at all on imported products, and levies duties only on selected items. No quantitative restrictions are imposed, and there is very sparing use of licensing scheme for a handful of items only.

"The investment regime is highly transparent, and trade in services is extremely liberal. Hong Kong, China has shown remarkable progress in the areas of trade facilitation as well, making the economy one of the best places in which to do business and with which to trade."

A fact sheet with excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment is now available.

The full report is now available here.

All APEC Member Economies implement IAP to guide them in their efforts to achieve APEC's Bogor Goals. The IAP review process program provides each Member Economy with the opportunity to have their progress towards APEC's goals assessed by Independent Experts.

Four APEC Member Economies are having their IAP' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Canberra. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Experts to a meeting of Member Economies followed by an opportunity for these economies to question the economy under review on the details of their IAP. 



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A unique mix of small farmers, corporate farmers, biotechnologists and policy makers from around the Asia Pacific region met on Friday to share information on the potential for biotechnology to address some important challenges facing agriculture.

The Private Sector Day, that preceded the sixth meeting of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology, offered key stakeholders an insight into how biotechnology can help farmers deal with impacts of climate change and increase yields with fewer pesticides.

The gains from biotech crops were demonstrated by small farmers in Asia through to large corporate farmers in Australia and North America. This is why 10 million of the worlds' farmers now choose to grow over 100 million hectares of biotech crops. More than half the worlds' population now live in countries growing biotech crops.

One of the speakers at the dialogue, the General Manager for Biotechnology at Croplife Australia, Mr. Nicholas Woods, said the benefits of biotech crops are of increasing interest in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The expanded use of safe agricultural biotechnology products is helping to enhance human health, improve environmental safety and feed a growing global population," Mr. Woods said.

"For example, 10 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions have been eliminated because farmers using biotech crops do not have to till their land or use pesticide as much as in conventional farming."

The Private Sector Day was the first day of the sixth meeting of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (Policy Dialogue).

The HLPDAB is being held over three days in association with the APEC Senior Officials related meetings in Canberra between January 15-26.



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APEC Senior Officials have wound up their first meeting for 2007 with a wide-ranging discussion of world trade negotiations and key regional economic issues.

APEC officials reaffirmed the importance they attach to a successful outcome to the Doha round of world trade negotiations and agreed to remain vigilant in identifying opportunities to support the multilateral trade system.

They welcomed the news that the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was considering sending a delegation of members to Geneva and other capitals to express concern at the lack of progress in the negotiations.

Senior Officials have begun preparing a second-phase Trade Facilitation Action Plan with the aim of reducing business costs across the Asia Pacific region. The plan calls for concrete measures to lower overall business transaction costs in areas such as customs, standards, competition policy, intellectual property rights, business mobility and e-commerce.

Officials also discussed ways and means of promoting further regional economic integration with the aim of preparing a report to APEC Leaders who will meet in Sydney in September. The report will also look at the proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a long-term prospect.

Senior Officials also discussed the issues of structural reform, energy security, health issues and counter-terrorism.

Senior Officials discussed the timetable and the objectives of the six sectoral Ministerial meetings that are scheduled in the lead-up to the APEC Minister's Meeting and APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in September.

The calendar for Ministerial and Leaders meetings in 2007 is as follows:

Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting, 12-16 February, Perth

Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting, 4-9 March, Hobart

Transportation Ministerial Meeting, 28-30 March, Adelaide

Energy Ministerial Meeting, 27-30 May, Darwin

Health Ministers' Meeting, 7-8 June, Sydney

Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, 4-6 July, Cairns

APEC Ministerial Meeting, 5-6 September, Sydney

APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, 8-9 September, Sydney

Details are available at www.apec.org.



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The new chair of APEC's Counter-Terrorism Task Force has announced that he will be seeking to implement highly targeted and tailor-made counter-terrorism capacity-building initiatives for the region.

This was one of several priorities identified by Ambassador Park Sang-ki as he chaired his first CTTF meeting of his two-year appointment.

Other measures include strengthening cooperation between the CTTF and other APEC working groups as well as international or regional organizations such as the UN, G-8, and ,others and increasing cooperation with the private sector.

Pointing out the consequences of some of the most recent attacks in the region, Ambassador Park noted the important link between security and APEC's work to facilitate the flow of trade and investment in the region.

"As long as the fear of terrorist attacks hinders business confidence and international trade and investment, APEC will be working to minimize this threat," Ambassador Park said.

"The Asia-Pacific region is highly dependent on international trade and investment with millions of people moving across the region by air, sea or land on a daily basis.

"Terrorist attacks not only murder and maim, but also cause serious economic damage that reduces employment and undermines prosperity.

"Ours is a very diverse region with differing approaches from dealing with the terrorist threat.

"At the CTTF it is our role to ensure that coordination on collective counter-terrorism efforts are sufficiently targeted to the local area where it will be delivered."

Ambassador Park said efforts to assist developing economies to strengthen counter-terrorism capacity is an important element for ensuring the success of counter-terrorism work in the region.

"APEC works to identify demands and make efforts to reduce gaps between member economies in countering terrorism.

"Where economies require assistance APEC is able to mobilize some of its own resources or connect the various needs with resources made available from other international organizations.

"In its first four years the CTTF helped APEC Member Economies to achieve a range of notable successes in areas such as securing cargoes, aircraft, sea lanes and port facilities. We hope to build on these in our work over the coming two years."

The CTTF met in Canberra on January19-20.

A webcast of Ambassador Park's opening address to the CTTF Meeting is available for download here:

http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/2007/47f.aspx

 



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The Attorney-General Philip Ruddock today welcomed delegates attending the APEC Data Privacy Seminar on the International Implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework.

A news photograph and webcast are available for download and use by the media.

The Seminar allows participants to discuss issues raised by the transfer of personal information in the APEC region. It will focus on the use of Cross-Border Privacy Rules by business to provide certainty to their customers on how their personal information will be protected.

Cross-Border Privacy Rules have been identified as the most appropriate practical mechanism for business and APEC economies to put into place the privacy principles contained in the APEC Privacy Framework.

"What makes the APEC Privacy Framework distinctive is the focus on the practical implementation of consistent privacy protection within a regional context," Mr. Ruddock said

"A key feature of the Framework is the need to maintain accountability in the flow of information among APEC economies and trading partners.

"It is vital for business to have clear and simple ways of complying with basic principles for the protection of people's personal information."

The Attorney-General expressed the viewpoint that the use of Cross-Border Privacy Rules, and the establishment of appropriate enforcement mechanisms, will provide for the protection of personal information.

The Data Privacy Seminar was hosted by the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG) and held in association with the Senior Officials and related meetings that are taking place in Canberra on January 15-26.

The ECSG promotes electronic commerce by working to create transparent and consistent policy environments in the region. The group also provides a coordinating role for APEC e-commerce activities. The ECSG was established in February 1999.




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The Chair of APEC's Economic Committee, Professor Robert Buckle, and the Chair of APEC's Committee on Trade and Investment, Mr Chris De Cure, provided a media briefing on current issues for their committees.

Webcast

[https://www]

Prof. Robert Buckle, Chair of the Economic Committee, on APEC's 'behind-the-border' economic reform agenda.

Download Audio (MP3, 2MB)

 

[https://www]

Mr Chris De Cure, Chair of the Committee on Trade and Investment, on APEC trade and investment issues.

Download Audio (MP3, 2.5MB)

 

News Photos 

The following news photographs are available for download and use by news organizations:

[https://www] [https://www]

[https://www] [https://www] 



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A range of films showcasing the talent and diversity of APEC Member Economies will be screened over the following week at the Pusan International Film Festival.

Taking place from October 6th to 14th, the "APEC Film Week" will add an additional cultural perspective to the annual film festival in Busan with films covering a range of topics including social issues, relationships and historical themes.

The films that have been selected for the APEC exhibition feature themes that promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding among APEC member economies. The films also highlight the diversity of tradition and values that exist around the APEC Region.

The films were chosen by representatives of the Pusan International Film Festival who sourced the films in individual economies or at other international film festivals.

The Chair of the 2005 APEC Senior Officials' Meetings, Ambassador Jong-Hoon Kim, will host a reception on October 10 for directors and cast members of some of the films shown during the APEC Film Week.

The APEC Film Week is being coordinated by the APEC Culture Focal Point Network (CFPN). The CFPN was established by APEC this year to undertake initiatives designed to reduce the psychological barriers to trade by enhancing intercultural understanding, strengthening information sharing and organizing events to promote cultural understanding.

The following films have been selected to screen during the APEC Film Week

Economy  Official Title Original Title

Year 

Director AustraliaLook Both WaysLook Both Ways 2005Sarah WattCanada    3 Needles3 Needles  2005Thom Fitzgerald ChilePlayPlay  2005Alicia Scherson ChinaSeason of the HorseJi Feng Zhong De Ma  2004Cai Ning Hong Kong, ChinaA Side B Side SeasideA Side B Side Seaside 2005Wing Chiu Chan IndonesiaAbout HerTentang Dia 2005Rudi SoedjarwoJapanDreaming of LightGarasu no Tsukai 2005Su-jin KimKoreaHost and GuestBanmoonja 2005Dong-il SinMalaysiaGravel Road, TheChemman Chaalai 2005Deepak Kumaran MenonMexicoNews from AfarNoticias Lejanas 2005Ricardo BenetNew ZealandRiver QueenRiver Queen 2005Vincent WardPapua New GuineaBetelnut BisnisBetelnut Bisnis 2005Chris OwenPeruElusive Good, TheEl Bien Esquivo 2001Augusto Tamayo San RomanPhilippinesSanta SantitaMagdalena 2005Laurice GuillenRussiaDreaming of SpaceKosmos Kak Predchuvstivie 2005Alexey UchitelSingaporeCagesCages 2005Graham StreeterChinese TaipeiFishing LuckDeng Dai Fei Yu 2005Wen-chen TsengThailandMy SpaceÄ¡ao Ä¡a gaao 2004Witit CumsrakaewU.S.AThe MotelThe Motel 2004Michael KangViet NamBride of SilenceHat mua roi bao lau 2005Minh Phuong Doan

Additional details on the Pusan International Film Festival can be found at www.piff.org



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Senior Asia-Pacific business executives have called on APEC Member Economies to play a strong leadership role in restarting foundering World Trade Organization Doha Development Agenda trade talks.

In their 2006 report to Leaders, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) identified a series of priority topics which are vital to business interests and economic prosperity. ABAC Members will discuss these issues and call for action when they meet with APEC Leaders in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in November.

In addition to reactivating the WTO negotiations, other business concerns include calming volatile energy markets, and promoting high-quality and transparent trade agreements. ABAC is also encouraging governments to strengthen measures designed to facilitate trade and investment and so make the Asia Pacific region an even friendlier place to do business.

The ABAC Chair, Mr. Hoang Van Dung, said, "We see this as a critical point in the recent historical march to liberalize trade and deliver greater prosperity by improving the business environment and expanding business opportunities."

"We call on APEC Leaders to take a personal interest in reviving WTO talks, and hope they will not limit their efforts to pressuring others but will also look at how APEC Economies can improve their own offers." Mr Dung said.

"While we are generally optimistic about the regional economy, we cannot be complacent or take for granted continued strong economic growth. Our regional economy faces looming challenges in the form of macroeconomic imbalances, volatile energy markets, possible health and security risks, and increasing volatility in financial markets."

Mr Dung added, "We are concerned that continued delay in concluding the Doha Round negotiations, and the lack of members' commitment that this implies, could significantly increase the risks to our economies of other negative economic influences."

The ABAC recommendations provide a number of ideas from business relating to further improving the business environment, and helping to ensure continued strong economic growth in the region. The recommendations include: strengthening regulatory environments and the adoption of more comprehensive standards, improving transparency and fighting corruption, strengthening financial markets, supporting SME growth, strengthening intellectual property protection, and encouraging innovation.

After Mr Dung presented the ABAC Report to Vietnamese President, Nguyen Minh Triet, the full document is now available for download at: www.abaconline.org



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The objectives for the 2007 meetings of APEC Energy and Mining Ministers have been established by a meeting of the APEC Energy Working Group (EWG).

Taking place in the far eastern Russian island of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on October 4-5, the EWG meeting was also attended by representative of the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the first time since the IEA was granted Guest Status in the EWG by the working group earlier this year.

The meeting agreed that the policy focus of the 3rd APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining Meeting in Perth, Australia, on February 12-16, would include the consideration of a set of non-binding APEC Mining Policy Principles. The ministerial meeting would also consider proposals for increased information exchange and capacity building for the mining industry that would be developed through greater public-private dialogue.

For the 8th APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting to be held in Darwin, Australia, on May 27-30 2007 EWG meeting agreed that the desired outcome of the meeting would be to move on from the impact of oil prices and examine the long-term energy challenges facing the APEC region. These are challenges that APEC Member Economies agree will remain relevant to the future growth and prosperity of the region regardless of the price of oil.

The two ministerial meetings that will take place as part of the APEC Australia 2007 year will also include opportunities for business representatives to share views with ministers and other industry stakeholders.

The EWG meeting also discussed current research and the progress of APEC resources-related projects that would be discussed and reviewed by mining and energy ministers. These range from the APEC Energy Security Initiative (ESI), the identification of benchmarks and indicators to assess energy efficiency and ongoing efforts to promote trade in natural gas in the APEC region.

The first EWG meeting ever held in Russia, the meeting on Sakhalin was opened by the Vice Governor of the Sakhalin Oblast Province and included presentations from the CEOs of Sakhalin Oil and Natural Gas Project and Exxon-Mobil.

The Russian Federation is the largest oil and natural gas producer and exporter in the APEC region with the Asia-Pacific's share of Russian oil exports forecast to increase from the current 3% to 30% by 2020 - to around 100 million metric tons per year. Natural gas exports are expected to expand during the same period from 5% to at least 25% of Russia's exports to Asia-Pacific economies - to around 65 billion cubic meters. 



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Regional trends in tourism, barriers to travel and infrastructure development were among the topics highlighted by Ministers at the opening of the 4th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting today in Hoi An.

Chairperson of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Madam Vo Thi Thang, said despite facing difficult times in recent years, tourism in the region has progressed, particularly as businesses and governments have increased their cooperation.

"Despite the challenges such as natural disasters, and the threat of a pandemic outbreak of avian influenza, the industry has made significant strides in recent years," Madam Thang said.

"Pursuing partnerships with the private sector has been an important component for strengthening the regional economy and the tourism industry.

"In addition to supporting job growth in the hospitality and transportation industries, tourism has been proven to support complementary sectors as well.

"Improving skills for workers in the service sector encourages more visitors leading to a better experience for tourists and ultimately, to greater spending in the Asia-Pacific region."

Madam Thang also highlighted the work that had been undertaken by tourism operators after the recent catastrophic effects of a recent tropical storm disaster in Viet Nam as being indicative of the tourism entrepreneurial sprit in the broader region.

"The resilience of the local tourism operators are a testament to the strength of tourism operators all around our region," Madam Thang said.

"Only one week after the devastating Typhoon Xangsane, the local authority was able to bring business back to normal in the ancient city of Hoi An so that this meeting could take place."

Speaking on broad economic issues that are essential to the development of the tourism industry, Madam Thang said the political and economic stability of APEC Member Economies combined with cultural and natural diversity make the region an attractive investment offering high-growth potential.

"By promoting tourism within the region and learning more about our neighbors, the bonds of friendship solidify and prosperous relationships will grow.

"Member Economies are developing comprehensive plans to encourage tourism investment and jobs around the region," Madam Thang said.

"For example, in its 10-year plan to promote tourism development, Viet Nam has focused on market orientation, human resource development, high quality standards, tourism product diversification, international cooperation and investment attraction.

"With almost 70% of Viet Nam's international visitors coming from APEC member economies over the last 5 years, Viet Nam has witnessed exponential growth in the tourism industry."

Ministers provided a positive assessment of the tourism industry in their economy reports and confirmed the importance of the industry given the variety of sectors related to tourism operations. Ministers also heard from international tourism organizations such as the APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism (AICST), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The Tourism Minister's Meeting began with an informal retreat in the morning session and will continue tomorrow with the formal plenary session on Tuesday morning. Ministers will then hold a news conference and release the 'Hoi An Declaration on Tourism'.

The Hoi An Declaration is expected to focus on the importance of taking a regional approach to tourism in the Asia-Pacific by encouraging investment and creating air linkages between cultural heritage sites in APEC member economies.

News Photo

Chairperson of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Madam Vo Thi Thang



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On the second day of the 4th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting, Viet Nam's Deputy Prime Minister has stated that the region needs to increase cross-border linkages to expand tourism potential for the APEC region.

Speaking at the opening of the plenary session of the ministerial meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem said APEC had already affirmed its position as a leader across numerous sectors, and now Tourism Ministers had the opportunity to expand this cooperation in one of the greatest employment industries of the region.

Tourism is a driving force for socio-economic development, job creation and cultural understanding among member economies," said Deputy Prime Minister Khiem said at the meeting.

There is much more that we can do to ensure that the tourism industry delivers even greater benefit to our region.

"APEC needs to increase cooperation in tourism promotion and marketing so that we maximize resources and increase returns on this investment.

We as a region need to work together to increase the skills of the people who work in our tourism industries so that they deliver an even better product to visitors.

"Very importantly, our region needs to open more direct flights between our economies particularly to new destinations."

Mr. Khiem also warned that the future of the industry was dependent on the industry's attention to ensuring sustainability.

"Member Economies face challenges to the health of their tourism industries which, if not properly managed, could have negative consequences for the broader regional economy.

"These include the ongoing threat of terrorism, pandemic diseases, natural and man-made disasters, shocks to the global economy and the management of the local environment that tourists come to visit. To ensure a healthy future, these challenges require the ongoing exchange of ideas and support of APEC Members to develop proper and effective solutions for tourism development."

Ministers at the meeting also finalized details of the Hoi An Declaration on Tourism that focuses on the importance of taking a regional approach to tourism in the Asia-Pacific by encouraging investment and creating air linkages between cultural heritage sites in APEC member economies.

The Tourism Ministerial Meeting took place on October 16-17, in Hoi An, Viet Nam.



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At the conclusion of their meeting today, APEC Tourism Ministers adopted the "Hoi An Declaration on Tourism" to promote sustainable tourism and investment in the region. APEC Member Economies agreed on a range of expanded measures to work together in the spirit of cooperation to ensure a vibrant tourism industry.

The Hoi An Declaration was agreed and endorsed following two days of meetings by Tourism Ministers from APEC Member Economies and three days of meetings by the APEC Tourism Working Group.

Chair of the Tourism Ministers' Meeting and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Pham Gia Khiem, welcomed the Hoi An Declaration that he said will usher in a new spirit of cooperation and encourage a regional approach to investment.

"Tourism is one of the prioritized areas for regional cooperation," said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

"Playing an increasingly important role in furthering socio-economic development, creating jobs, reducing poverty, and preserving the environment, we firmly support the industry as it contributes so much to the regional economy."

"Given the competitive nature of the industry, Ministers understand the importance of setting high standards across the region and encourage member economies to implement programs that offer training and human resource development.

"Recognizing the important role the private sector plays in tourism, we encourage member economies to promote the APEC Tourism Fair as a means for optimizing valuable and diversified tourism assets and resources."

The Hoi An Declaration covers the following areas:

Encouraging the private sector to participate in the APEC Tourism Investment Forum

Liberalizing of air routes between the cultural heritage sites of APEC member economies

Promoting the APEC Tourism Fair to secure encourage international visitors

The declaration is now available.

The next APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting is scheduled for, Peru, in 2008.



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Direct economic consequences, potential long-term loss of consumer confidence, and the disruption to trade in the APEC region would be catastrophic if a serious food-supply incident, or even a hoax or ineffective attack, were to be perpetrated, according to paper which was recently declassified by the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force.

Preventing such attacks and mitigating the threat to global food supply were at the center of the discussion of APEC technical experts and policy makers and representatives from the private sector meeting in Bangkok. At the meeting they worked to identify areas where they can collaborate to combat a deliberate contamination to the global food supply, both at the production and processing stages.

The workshop was co-hosted by the governments of Thailand and the United States of America. Australia and Chile are co-sponsors of the food defense work.

Natalia Comella, U.S. State Department Policy Advisor for Bioterrorism, Biodefense, and Health Security, introduced the food defense initiative at APEC. "The threat of deliberate contamination of the food supply for the express purpose of doing harm to a civilian population or economy is real. By identifying areas in food production and distribution most vulnerable to deliberate contamination and developing strategies to mitigate the threat, we better protect ourselves from the possibility of a terrorist attack on the food supply, reducing the likelihood of an attack on the food supply," said Ms. Comella.

"The workshop promised to benefit multiple sectors across APEC by bringing together technical experts and policy makers from agriculture, health, foreign affairs, security, and trade, as well as the private sector."

C.P. Foods, Kraft Foods, and Fonterra Co-op Group Limited also shared their perspectives on food defense, along with technical experts from APEC Member Economies.

"Given that the private sector oversees a majority, if not all, of the relevant infrastructure, it is important that food defense work and related activities are well coordinated among key stakeholders," said U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Alex Arvizu.

"In today's marketplace, food is mass produced and rapidly distributed throughout the world. If contaminated, it could cause morbidity and/or mortality on a global scale.

Officials carried out simulations of threats in APEC Member Economies to illustrate the importance of using vulnerability assessments.

"Participants used vulnerability assessment tools on a food product as it goes from 'farm to table' as a means of illustrating how these tools can be used most effectively in identifying vulnerabilities or 'critical nodes' in the continuum".

"The workshop provided each APEC economy with tools to analyze and apply risk assessment methodologies to combat the terrorist threat to their food-supply. Since the characteristics of certain foods make more attractive targets, participants looked at how to assess the vulnerability in two food products -- produce and meat.

The "Mitigating the Terrorist Threat to the APEC Food Supply" Workshop was held from November 1 - 3, 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. 



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Developing economies in the APEC Region are increasing their capacity to protect and enforce intellectual property rights at a workshop that began in Hong Kong today.

Jointly hosted by IP Australia, the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, the "APEC IPR Public Education and Awareness Platform - Workshop on Effective Strategies for IPR Public Education" is being held from November 8-10.

Senior departmental officials from developing economies are attending the workshop to enhance skills to assist local entrepreneurs.

Mr. Sivakant Tiwari, Chair of APEC Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group welcomed the initiative of Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore to strengthen IPR capacity in developing areas of the APEC Region.

"This IP workshop will share the skills, tools and resources required to implement public education and awareness campaigns in their economies," Mr. Tiwari said to delegates at the workshop.

"Well organized, transparent and properly enforced intellectual property regimes are essential for developing economies to be competitive in the global economy.

"Delegates at this workshop will leave with increased skills to educate others in their economies and develop creative industries.

"This includes the capacity to implement public awareness campaigns that ensure that business people are more aware of the IPR and avenues available to enforce these rights."

Topics to be covered during the three day workshop include:

Planning and Implementation of Effective IP Public Education Campaigns

Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Education Programs

Regional Cooperation and Sharing of Resources

The Critical Role of IP Public Education in a Knowledge-Based Economy

Developing Strategies for IP Public Awareness Campaigns

Guest speakers from APEC's Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group, government administrators and officials from the APEC member economies responsible for planning and implementing public education and awareness programs will lead discussion at the workshop.



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APEC Senior Officials have concluded the first day of discussions in preparation for the APEC Ministers and Leaders meetings that will take place this week.

During the informal session today Officials discussed APEC's role in progressing the DDA round of WTO negotiations, the possibility of establishing a Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific, inputs to the Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap, APEC reform, Model Measures for FTAs/RTAs, and the latest developments in the work of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force.

The informal session was chaired by Vice Minister Le Cong Phung, who opened the meeting by highlighting the value of the Concluding SOM Meeting for contributing to the success of the APEC Viet Nam year.

In discussions on advancing the current round of WTO negotiations, APEC Member Economies discussed ways to advance WTO discussions for conclusion by next year. Delegates agreed to propose that Leaders issue a stand-alone statement that will include strong language calling for an early resumption of the negotiations.

APEC Member Economies have made a commitment and provided substantial input to assist WTO members to unblock negotiations.

The potential for establishing a Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) region was discussed today with APEC Member Economies agreeing that the prospect of the FTAAP is worthy of further discussion.

In agreeing that there was room to further discuss the potential of an FTAAP, Senior Officials were specific in highlighting that any such effort would need to be in line with APEC's overall free and open trade and investment goals and complement the multilateral trading system.

The issue of individual FTAs/RTAs was taken up by Senior Officials in relation to discussion of proposed model measures. When developed, these model measures will be endorsed by APEC to assist Member Economies to develop more transparent and effective FTAs/RTAs.

Senior Officials also finalized their recommendations on the Ha Noi Action Plan that will now be presented for consideration by Ministers. The action plan will provide concrete plans for implementing the "Busan Roadmap towards achieving the Bogor Goals" that was agreed by Leaders in Busan last year.

The plan relates to elements that constitute core components in APEC's work to reach the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC Region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. These areas include support for the multilateral trading system, strengthening of CAPs and IAPs, promotion of high quality FTAs/RTAs, implementation of the business agenda in the region and capacity building.

Member Economies also reviewed progress in intellectual property rights work and agreed on two new model guidelines in addition to three existing ones of the anti-counterfeiting and piracy initiative. The new model guidelines include one for effective public awareness campaigns and another to secure supply chains against counterfeit and pirated goods.

Senior Officials agreed on the list of 2006 counter-terrorism deliverables to be submitted to Ministers for endorsement. These include the Food Defense Initiative and outcomes of the Food Defense Workshop held in Bangkok from 1-3 November, 2006; the initiative to organize Counter-terrorism Financing Workshops; and the APEC Counter-Terrorism Review handbook. Delegates also endorsed the inclusion of the business resumption points of contact and aviation security points of contact in the TFEP Register of Pandemic and Disaster Management Coordinators and the nomination of Ambassador Park Sang-ki of Korea as the new CTTF Chair following the conclusion of the two-year term by the current Chair, Ambassador Benjamin Defensor.

The Senior Officials Meeting will continue tomorrow with a plenary session before the APEC Ministerial Meeting on November 15-16, and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on November 18-19.



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Leaders, Ministers, senior business representatives and government officials from APEC's 21 Member Economies will meet next week in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, for some of the most important meetings of the annual global political calendar.

Beginning with a meeting of Senior Officials on Sunday, November 12, the meetings will conclude on Sunday, November 19, with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Discussion topics for the meetings will typically reflect major economic and political issues faced by the global economy as well as further steps to advance economic growth and sustainable development of the APEC member economies.

The Chair of the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, Vice Minister Le Cong Phung, said one of the major outcomes that is anticipated from the Leaders' Meeting will be the Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap to achieve the Bogor goals of free and open trade and investment.

"The Ha Noi Action Plan is made up of concrete actions in key areas, including support to the multilateral trading system; strengthen CAPs/IAPs; promotion of high-quality RTAs/FTAs; implementation of the Busan Business agenda; and capacity building".

"The implementation of the Ha Noi Action Plan will be essential to the achievement of the Bogor goals and of major consequence to ongoing economic and social development in the APEC Region," Vice Minister Phung said.

APEC will also consider issues relating to the ongoing reform of the APEC process. This includes increasing the capacity of the Secretariat in Singapore to respond to the expanding APEC agenda and ongoing work to improve linkages and coordination between APEC working groups and fora.

The schedule for the meetings is as follows:

12-13 November, APEC Concluding Senior Officials Meeting

14-16 November, 4th Meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council

15-16 November, 18th APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting

17-19 November, APEC CEO Summit

18-19 November, 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

For media attending the meetings:

All accredited media will have access to the International Media Center located inside the National Convention Centre

Media access to photo opportunities in meetings and designated areas in the National Convention Centre will be through media pools that will be arranged by the APEC 2006 Hosts.

The APEC Secretariat will have a booth located inside the International Media Centre to respond to requests from news outlets

An online media kit is available at: www.apec.org/mediakit



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The first formal event of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting week began this morning at Viet Nam's National Convention Centre.

Senior Officials from APEC's 21 Member Economies will discuss issues that have been of major significance throughout 2006 that are likely to be discussed further by Ministers and Leaders throughout the week.

Unlocking stalled World Trade Organization negotiations and guidelines to secure supply chains against counterfeit and pirated goods will be among issues discussed throughout the meetings today and tomorrow. Senior Officials will also provide additional input to the Ha Noi Action Plan that will be considered and endorsed by Ministers and Leaders.

Chair of the APEC Senior Officials Meeting, Vice Minister Le Cong Phung, said WTO negotiations will continue to be of great importance for APEC meetings as APEC Member Economies seek to find a way forward.

"APEC can lead the way for all members of the WTO to reignite negotiations and conclude the Doha Development Agenda next year," Vice Minister Phung said on the morning of the first APEC meeting.

"APEC members provide an accurate gauge of global economic views and ideas, so if APEC can identify a way forward this path will most likely be suitable to the broader WTO membership.

"Representatives of APEC Member Economies based in Geneva have been working on a solution and Senior Officials will be updated on this progress."

One of the main objectives of the Ministers and Leaders Meetings this week will be the release of the Ha Noi Action Plan.

"The Ha Noi Action Plan provides the detail required to implement last year's Busan roadmap to achieve the APEC Bogor Goals," Vice Minister Phung said.

"The Plan will have core components that include support for the multilateral trading system, strengthening of CAPs/IAPs, high quality FTAs/RTAs, strengthening of business activities in the region and capacity building.

"For business to thrive in our region, APEC members have an obligation to ensure the business environment is conducive to growth. The Ha Noi Action Plan will provide clear direction on a range of areas that include trade facilitation, private sector development, the digital economy and IPR, investment facilitation, transparency and anti-corruption, secure trade, structural reform and pathfinder initiatives."

APEC Senior Officials began the first day of the meeting in an informal retreat that will be followed on the second day of the meeting with a formal plenary session. APEC Ministers will begin their two day meeting on Wednesday, November 15, and Leaders will meet over the weekend on November 18-19.

News photographs and webcast is available for download.


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Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 15 November 2006
News Photos
Webcast

Video Webcast (WMV, 1.3MB) and Podcast (MP3, 1.5MB) of Viet Nam Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem's opening remarks are available for download




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APEC Senior Officials concluded the last day of meetings with a plenary session held today in Ha Noi. At the plenary meeting Senior Officials reached consensus on a range of reports that will now be submitted to Ministers and Leaders of APEC's 21 Member Economies when they meet later in the week.

The two-day meeting, chaired by Viet Nam's First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Cong Phung, covered a wide range of issues including economics, trade, investment, human security, counter-terrorism, disaster and pandemic management, cultural cooperation, tourism, anti-corruption and APEC reform.

Senior Officials endorsed the annual report by the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) that includes a second-phase Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP) in which member economies agreed to a 5% reduction in business transaction costs between 2006-2010.

Intensive discussions are still on-going among member economies on model measures for developing regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements (RTAs/FTAs). A number of these measures are expected to receive consensus soon and will then be submitted to Ministers for endorsement.

Senior Officials also endorsed a Technology Choice Principles Pathfinder initiative for submission to Ministers. This initiative aims to encourage innovation, competition and maximise the benefits of technology for the businesses and consumers.

The annual reports by the Economic Committee and Budget and Management Committee were also approved.

The meeting also unanimously agreed to propose that Ministers and Leaders endorse the Outcomes Report of APEC Pandemic Response Simulation Exercise conducted on 7-8 June this year.

Finally, Senior Officials approved the SOM Chair's Summary Report on improvements in the individual action plans (IAPs) in 2006 and another report on the results of economic and technical cooperation (ECOTECH) this year.



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APEC Ministers began their annual two-day meeting today at which they will address leading economic policy issues confronting the Asia-Pacific Region.

News photographs and a webcast from the opening of the meeting are available.

At the conclusion of the meeting a joint ministerial statement will be delivered that outlines the Ministers' assessment of the outcomes of a range of various initiatives and articulates recommendations for the coming year.

In his opening address to the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam Pham Gia Khiem, highlighted the importance of the meeting for the regional and global economy.

"The 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting is one of the most important events in the APEC year 2006," Mr. Khiem said in his opening address.

"In our retreat and plenary we will review progress over the past year and discuss actions and initiatives for future cooperation in order to promote trade and investment and build a secure and favorable business environment for common prosperity in the region."

Mr. Khiem outlined some of the issues that Ministers would discuss throughout the day.

These include:

Strengthening the multilateral trading system

Regional Trade Arrangements (RTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap

Interaction with the APEC Business Advisory Council

Counter Terrorism

APEC reform and the future of the APEC process

World Trade Organization Director General, Pascal Lamy, also briefed the opening session of the meeting and updated delegates on the latest developments on efforts to advance WTO negotiations.

Other issues that have been prominent at an APEC ministerial, senior official and fora level throughout the year that will likely be discussed by Ministers include APEC's efforts to overcome Corruption and enhance Transparency, Human Security and capacity building and Technical Cooperation.



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APEC ministers concluded the first day of their annual meeting today with agreement on a broad range of issues including support for WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, trade facilitation in the Asia-Pacific, and new counter-terrorism initiatives.

In the retreat session chaired by Viet Nam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pham Gia Khiem and Minister of Trade, Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen, ministerial representatives from 21 member economies discussed issues relating to strengthening the multilateral trading system.

Congratulating Viet Nam on its accession to the WTO and appreciating the host for organizing a timely meeting regarding the stalled WTO negotiations, Ministers agreed that support for the DDA continues to be APEC's top priority. Ministers reached broad consensus on the draft of a stand-alone statement on DDA that they will propose to Leaders to issue later this week.

The 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) endorsed 5 model measures for high-quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements (RTAs/FTAs) in trade in goods, technical barriers to trade, transparency, government procurement, and cooperation. Ministers also agreed to instruct senior officials to continue discussions on more measures for endorsement soon.

Delegates had a lively discussion on the idea of a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a long-term prospect and agreed to instruct senior officials to conduct study on this matter.

Ministers unanimously approved the Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap and agreed that the action plan is an important vehicle to push for effective realization of the 1994 Bogor goals of free and open trade and investment.

Delegates also stressed the importance of the business community and stated their support for business interests in APEC activities.

The meeting endorsed the list of 2006 counter-terrorism deliverables submitted by senior officials and reiterated APEC's determination to fight terrorism to achieve peace, stability and a secure business environment in the region and the world.

Ministers also endorsed the APEC Reform 2006 Deliverables, agreeing that this is an important achievement, which will help increase the forum's relevance, practicality and effectiveness.

The meeting will continue with a plenary session tomorrow with discussions on intellectual property rights, individual action plans and collective action plans, economic and technical cooperation, health security, anti-corruption, and private sector development, among other topics.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Pham Gia Khiem will give a press conference about the meeting afterwards.



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Issued by the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI)

APEC's Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) will present its Annual Report that highlights the CTI's achievements to Ministers tomorrow.

Over the past year these developments have included the establishment of guidelines to strengthen intellectual property rights enforcement and a framework to enhance the capacity of developing economies to undertake further investment liberalization. The CTI has also worked to help economies to negotiate more transparent and effective Regional Trade Arrangements (RTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

The report that will be presented at the 18th APEC Ministerial meeting in Ha Noi tomorrow provides details of the efforts of the sub-groups and four industry dialogues that are overseen by the CTI. These include areas such as enhancing business traveler mobility and WTO capacity building.

One of the major achievements of the APEC 2006 year has been the development of Model Measures on RTAs/FTAs. The measures are designed to enhance consistency and improve the quality of RTAs/FTAs signed between APEC Member Economies.

There are currently more than 20 RTAs/FTAs in force in the APEC region and with a lack of continuity between many of these business is faced with what is described as the confusing spaghetti bowl or noodle bowl effect of having so many differing RTAs/FTAs. The various chapters of the model measures being developed by APEC continues to expand and includes the areas of market access for goods, technical barriers to trade, transparency, government procurement and cooperation.

Other outcomes from the year include the final review of the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP), which concluded that APEC's work to reduce business transaction costs was progressing well and the development of a framework on investment liberalization and facilitation. Particularly for developing economies, this framework outlines pathways that can be taken to ensure that investment in the domestic economy is more transparent. The framework also encourages greater collaboration with business on exploring ways to improve the regional investment climate.

The report also outlines the CTIs' work to implement an APEC Framework for the Integration of Gender in the Asia-Pacific, the reform and operational enhancement of APEC working forums and the spread of the Regional Movement Alert System that has been developed to detect the illegal use of stolen or lost passports.

The full report will be presented to APEC Ministers tomorrow and can then be downloaded at www.apec.org.



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Business Leaders from the Asia-Pacific region have today called on APEC Leaders to renew their commitment to the successful completion of the Doha Round during their up-coming meeting in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has just completed three days of discussions around facilitating and promoting trade, investment and economic growth in the region.

"ABAC is the most significant meeting of the region?s business community and this weekend's APEC meeting is the first of world leaders since the recent collapse of trade talks," said 2006 ABAC Chair, Hoang Van Dung.

"ABAC has been proactive in pushing for a resumption of the Doha Round. In September representatives of the region's business community met with UNICE (Confederation of European Business) and the World Trade Organization to promote the importance of freeing-up world trade to the Asia Pacific.

"The address yesterday to ABAC by the World Trade Organization Director-General, Pascal Lamy, on the status of the Doha Round and the consequences of its failure was of deep concern to our business council.

"The success of the multilateral round is vital to all APEC economies and the world and our meeting with the APEC Leaders allows us the opportunity to stress this issue.

"The benefits of liberalized trade and investment regimes are well known. By lowering tariffs, opening goods and services markets, addressing non-tariff barriers and promoting trade facilitation the Doha Round has the potential to raise the standards of living in all APEC economies.

"We are deeply committed to the multilateral round, but should it reach an impasse, our concept of a Free Trade Area Asia Pacific (FTAAP) will be studied and developed further, out of necessity.

"The APEC meeting provides a time for action by our leaders, who should ensure a return to the negotiating table at the WTO level, as a matter of priority," Hoang Van Dung said.



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Senior business executives from the Asia Pacific region have met in Hanoi, Viet Nam to discuss business sector priorities in the lead up to the APEC Leaders meeting this weekend.

APEC?s Business Advisory Council (ABAC),which comprises three senior business representatives from each of the 21 APEC economies, has identified a number of priority issues vital to business interests and the continued economic prosperity of the region for the coming year.

"While ABAC's primary focus remains the successful conclusion of the Doha Round, we are committed to a range of objectives aimed at strengthening economic development in the APEC region," said incoming ABAC Chair for 2007, Mr Mark Johnson of Australia.

"ABAC is in a unique position to influence the priorities of APEC economies and we are focusing on the big issues - trade liberalization and facilitation, energy, and security matters.

"Our agenda for 2007 will include initiatives to ensure APEC remains the leading forum within the Asia Pacific region and ABAC Working Groups will focus on the following priorities:

Finance and Economic Working Group (FEWG)

Deepening and strengthening private capital markets and improving financial stability, working in close conjunction with APEC Finance Ministers; and

Increased focus on capacity building and market opening initiatives, including enhancing access to capital for SMEs.

Liberalization Working Group (LWG)

The resumption of WTO/DDA negotiations;

Liberalization - anticipate and develop ideas including action on model measures, WTO plus and core principals of FTAAP;

Investment and services - checklist for non-financial services sectors; and

Capacity building - institutional arrangements.

Facilitation Working Group (FWG)

Transparency and ease of doing business;

Standards; and

Security of movement of people and goods.

Technology and Information Working Group (TIWG)

Energy security and climate change including water; and

Intellectual Property rights.

Action Plan and APEC Resources Working Group (APARWG)

Individual Action Plan Review process;

Response to regional emergencies;

Promotion of small to medium enterprises; and

Strengthening APEC as an institution. 



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Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 07 September 2006

The following photographs are available to be downloaded and used by news organizations:

Group Photographs

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Viet Nam Prime Minister

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Finance Ministers

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Canada 
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China
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Japan
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Philippines
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Viet Nam Vice Minister
 

Representatives

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International Monetary Fund 
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Issued by the 13th APEC Finance Ministers Meeting

The 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting has concluded in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, with the release of the Joint Ministerial Statement and the concluding Press Conference that was attended by ministers.

Meeting over two days, Ministers covered issues of consequence to regional economic growth that are outlined in the Joint Ministerial Statement and were further discussed in the Press Conference. This content is now available from the APEC website.

Webcast 1

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Comments by the incoming APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting Chair (2007), the Treasurer of Australia, Mr Peter Costello

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Webcast 2

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Response to the following question from the media put to China's Finance Minister, Mr. Jin Renqing: "I see in the final statement that you say reducing global imbalances while maintaining growth requires exchange rate flexibility and that this will require greater exchange rate flexibility for some economies in emerging Asia. Could I ask the finance minister from the People's Republic of China whether China is going to implement the commitments made in this statement for further exchange rate flexibility?"

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Webcast 3

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Response to the following question from the media put to United States Treasury Secretary, Mr. Henry Paulson: "Are you happy with what the minister (from China) has said just now and secondly, are you disappointed that there was no mention of weapons of mass destruction financing in the final draft of the ministers' statement?"

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Webcast 4

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Response to the following question from the media put to China's Finance Minister, Mr. Jin Renqing: "At the last G7 Meeting, the G7 singled out China as needing to allow further flexibility into its currency regime in order to resolve global economic imbalances. With the G7 meeting coming up in a couple of weeks, how will China respond if the G7 repeats its call at this month's meeting?"

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The Joint Ministerial Statement covers the following areas:

Global and Regional Economic Developments

The 2006 APEC Finance Ministers' Process Policy Themes of "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources" and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows."

Review of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process

Other matters and information on the next Finance Ministers' Meeting in Australia, on 2-3 August 2007

The statement also contains up-to-date annexes on current work in the Finance Ministers' Process:

The Strategic Goals of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process and Hanoi Medium-Term Agenda

Policy Initiatives Review including the Voluntary Action Plan for Supporting Freer and More Stable Capital Flows, the APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative and the APEC Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank

Progress on the Jeju Declaration including work on aging populations.
APEC Finance Ministers have met annually since 1994.

The next major meetings on the APEC agenda are the Meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on September 17 and the Meeting of APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting in Ha Noi on September 28-29.



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Preparing to deal with the economic consequences of a potential Influenza Pandemic is the purpose of an APEC symposium next week in Viet Nam.

The "APEC Health Task Force Symposium on Functioning Economies in Times of Pandemic" in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on September 10-11, will help governments to establish clear strategies for minimizing economic damage in the event of a pandemic.

The project is focused on ensuring that regional governments understand that standard disaster management plans will not be enough to deal with an Influenza Pandemic.

The project acknowledges that preparing for a pandemic is different from most other disasters due to the widespread impact on the workforce in all sectors of the economy.

As will be covered at the symposium, a pandemic will be characterized by the spread of an outbreak across international borders in a short period of time with effects including social dislocation, business downturn and job losses.

The symposium, that is being organized by Australia and is co-sponsored by Viet Nam and Canada, will provide government planners with access to information and identify areas where greater collaboration can be undertaken.

Discussion at the Symposium will focus on a range of themes that have been identified in a recent consultation report as being essential for pandemic preparedness and provide input for a set of protocols that will be launched in 2007.

Delegates to the symposium will include a cross section of government representatives from APEC Member Economies and relevant multilateral organizations including the United Nations and the World Health Organization.



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APEC is increasing efforts to prevent terrorist attacks on the food supply in the Asia-Pacific through a new food defense initiative launched by the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF).

The "Mitigating the Terrorist Threat to the APEC Food Supply" initiative will strengthen the capacity of economies to deal with impacts that could result from attacks to the food supply in the region. The first project for the new initiative will be a workshop in Bangkok in November that will be attended by policymakers and food defense technical experts. CTTF members finalized many of the details of the upcoming workshop at their meeting in Viet Nam this week.

The Chair of the CTTF, Ambassador Benjamin Defensor, said food supplies in Member Economies are vulnerable to attack and must be protected.

"If terrorists were to introduce poison, disease or other contaminants to food stocks the potential death toll would be high and widespread," Ambassador Defensor said at the conclusion of the CTTF meeting that approved the initiative.

"In addition to the loss of life, the long term economic damage could see entire food sectors almost decimated as consumers abandon certain foods."

The workshop in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 1-2 will bring together experts to share strategies to identify vulnerabilities, or areas, most susceptible to deliberate contamination in the "farm to table" continuum and develop strategies to fill these security gaps.

Considering that almost all food production is in the private sector, Ambassador Defensor said a number of business representatives from around the region will be encouraged to participate in the workshop.

"Farmers, food producers, transportation companies and retail outlets are the frontline of defence against potential terrorist contamination of food supplies, so are essential contributors for increasing our counter-terrorism capacity."

In welcoming the new initiative Ambassador Defensor said APEC was in a unique position to confront the terrorist threat.

"APEC is working to protect the region from the ongoing threats posed by terrorists across a wide range of areas including air travel, rail networks, energy and now food supplies. Because of the broad range of areas that APEC covers we are able to combine the resources of our 21 members to confront the threat."

The workshop in Bangkok is jointly sponsored by the United States and will be co-hosted by Thailand.



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Improving governance and transparency in the public sector was the focus of an APEC Seminar today.

Sponsored by New Zealand, Malaysia and Japan, the APEC Public Sector Governance Seminar provided delegates from APEC Member Economies with good practice ideas that can be implemented in government departments around the region.

Speakers at the symposium included Mr. John Whitehead, New Zealand's Secretary to the Treasury, Dr Nguyen Khac Hung from Viet Nam's Department of International Cooperation of the National Academy of Policy Administration, and the coordinator of the World Bank's Governance and Anti-Corruption Thematic Group, Mr. J. Edgardo Campos.

In his presentation to the symposium, Mr. Whitehead identified essential elements involved in establishing a well-functioning bureaucracy that is transparent and functional.

"Improving the performance of government departments is an important APEC goal as many of the services delivered by governments are core to the well-being of citizens," Mr. Whitehead said to delegates.

"The seminar heard from a number of specialists on how reform of public sector governance can contribute to improving the level of quality and service they provide to their local communities."

Dr. Hung spoke of Viet Nam's experience in Doi Moi, the 'renovation' of public administration and reminded delegates of the important relationship between good public management and economic growth.

Mr. J. Edgardo Campos provided the symposium with World Bank experience in a broader global context of the challenges in designing well-functioning organizations.

"Whether developed or developing, countries continue to struggle as demands of an evolving global economy constantly change," Mr. Campos said.

"The typical developing state today is faced with rising expectations, an increasing and disparate population, and a changing international environment that are outstripping its ability to deliver public good and services."

Ultimately Mr. Campos said international research showed that transparency and voice are increasingly being found to matter when looking to improve the performance of the government sector.

"Ideally, citizens should be able to hold civil servants directly accountable for the poor implementation of policies and programs."

The symposium was attended by around 50 delegates from various public sector positions in the governments of APEC Member Economies.
APEC has identified five priority areas for structural reform work in the Asia-Pacific based on the APEC Leaders' Agenda for Implementing Structural Reform (LAISR). These areas are: regulatory reform; competition policy; public sector management; strengthening economic and legal infrastructure; and corporate governance.

As a follow-up to the seminar, New Zealand is producing a set of good practice principles for public sector governance which will be considered for endorsement by APEC member economies.

The seminar took place in the lead-up to the third meeting of APEC Senior officials for 2006 in Da Nang on September 17.



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APEC Senior Officials have endorsed a project that will serve as a demonstration for other APEC Member Economies on modernizing customs procedures.

Viet Nam and the United States are undertaking a Custom Demonstration Project that will include the implementation of an eManifest system based on the APEC Framework for Secure Trade. The project will be implemented at the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Airports and be completed by November 2006.

Viet Nam and the United States, along with the US National Center for APEC and several leading U.S. companies will implement this trade facilitation project to modernize Viet Nam's customs procedures and practices. The ultimate goal of the project is to facilitate and secure trade links between Viet Nam and its trading partners.

Upon implementation, the project is expected to eliminate numerous hours of processing time for the nearly 10,000 air-express packages entering Viet Nam each day.

The system will allow improved inventory management and the new electronic system will create a more transparent process for Viet Nam Customs and their stakeholders.

The project is in keeping with past APEC Demonstration projects such as the Shanghai Model Port project as an example of public-private cooperation. The Viet Nam-US project demonstrates the value of the private sector as not just a funding provider, but also a partner in implementing security enhancements.

The development and installation of the eManifest system is the centerpiece of the project and an important step for increasing regional trade security. The system uses advanced electronic information to identify high-risk shipments and will enable Viet Nam Customs to provide timely clearance of express deliveries.

The project also conforms with the Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) IV conference recommendations for increasing trade facilitation and enhancing security.

Consideration and approval of the initiative as a demonstration project took place at the Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting for 2007 that took place in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on September 16-17. 



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Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 15 September 2006

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Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
  
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Delegation Leaders with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Madam Ha Thi Khiet and Minister for Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc.
 
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Cultural performance at the 11th WLN Meeting

 
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Cultural performance at the 11th WLN Meeting



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The framework governing the new APEC system to detect the use of stolen and lost passports has been agreed by members and the system is now ready to expand to a number of economies around the Asia-Pacific.

The Regional Movement Alert System (RMAS), that was called the Regional Movement Alert List during its testing phase, enables stolen and lost passports to be detected if used to cross a border in participating Member Economies.

The 'Multilateral Framework for Regional Movement Alert System' outlines governance and operational aspects of the system and contains the Memorandum of Understanding that Member Economies will sign before they can participate.

The framework establishes the procedures that are followed for checking the validity of a passport and the transmission of an alert if a stolen or lost passport is detected by the system.

The RMAS has been trialed by three APEC Member Economies (Australia, New Zealand and the United States) over the past year. It works through the transmission of passport details from airline check-in counters and border posts back to the economy that originally issued the passport. If that passport has been reported as being either missing or stolen an alert is transmitted back to the border post that the passport holder is attempting to transit. This then provides critical real-time information to assist local authorities in deciding how to manage the case.

Until now it has been possible for terrorists and other criminals to travel with stolen or lost passports so long as the holder did not attempt to travel to the economy that issued the passport. This meant for example that a person might have been able to travel between two economies using a passport from a third economy that had been reported as stolen or lost, without raising any alarm. Those days are gone now with participating Member Economies able to detect the use of these passports in a matter of seconds and ensure that action is taken.

The system also ensures that privacy is protected as no private data is released by participating economies. The only information that is transmitted is a request for verification to the passport issuing economy to establish authenticity of the passport, and the subsequent positive or negative response from the issuing economy.

With the adoption of the framework the remaining 18 APEC Member Economies are now able to join the system.



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APEC Senior Officials have concluded their Third Meeting for 2006 with consensus on a number of issues that will be presented for endorsement by APEC Ministers and Leaders in November.

Senior Officials reviewed reports from the Chairs of APEC Committees who discussed the progress in preparing their annual reports to APEC Ministers.

APEC's Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) presented a number of issues including a review of sub-fora, and consideration of how these might be reformed to better assist APEC to realize its free trade and investment goals. Senior officials also discussed APEC's work on intellectual property rights, life sciences, technology choice principles, RTAs/FTAs and an upcoming Trade Facilitation Action Plan Report. The CTI will now finalize recommendations in the "2006 CTI Annual Report to Ministers" for presentation in November.

Senior Officials also considered the role of Regional Trade Arrangements and Free Trade Agreements (RTAs and FTAs) in relation to APEC's free trade and investment goals and the series of model measures being developed for economies to use as a guide in the process of negotiating RTAs and FTAs. These measures, which are intended to cover most potential FTA chapters, seek to improve the quality and transparency of RTAs and FTAs and will be presented to APEC Ministers in November 2006.

Member Economies also adopted templates to assess the implementation of APEC Transparency Standards and agreed to complete them by the meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade next year.

The APEC Secretariat also provided information on the timeline for the review of several Member Economies' progress to achieve APEC's core free trade and investment goals. In 2007 Australia, Hong Kong China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, China, Korea and New Zealand will have their progress assessed through an independent study and then face a review of this progress by other APEC Member Economies. Senior Officials endorsed the proposed timeline.

The APEC Economic Committee (EC) also updated Senior Officials on its 2006 activities that include progress on its structural reform agenda. Outcomes of the 2006 EC Work Program include an APEC Economic Policy Report covering structural reform activities in APEC and sustainable development, as well as a project on socio-economic disparity in the region.

The APEC Economic Policy Report is the result of the EC's decision in 2006 not to continue with the preparation of the annual APEC Economic Outlook in its current form, but to refocus the publication on issues more related to structural reform.

The APEC SOM Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE) also presented Senior Officials with an update on progress. Important issues for the SCE have included assessing options to streamline APEC's capacity building work by merging fora covering areas of similar activity. The SCE also updated its priorities in work areas include the development of human capital, strengthening economic infrastructure and strengthening the dynamism of Small and Medium Enterprises.

The chairs of APEC Task Forces on Counter Terrorism, Emergency Preparedness, Health Security and Anti-Corruption also presented updates on their work and sought endorsement for future projects.
Senior Officials were pleased with the results of the Public and Private Dialogue on Anti-corruption and Ensuring Transparency in Business Transactions. Steps are being taken in APEC to integrate a public-private sector approach to fight corruption, increase transparency and reduce transaction costs.

Other APEC groups seeking endorsement of new activities in projects in areas that include gender, agricultural biotechnology, electronic commerce and customs also presented details of their work plans.
APEC Senior Officials will meet again in November in the days before the 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting that will then be followed by the 14th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting.

The Meeting schedule is as follows: 12-13 November  APEC Concluding Senior Officials Meeting 
14-16 November Meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 
15-16 November  18th APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting 
17-19 November APEC CEO Summit 
18-19 November 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting



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Da Nang, Viet Nam, September 17, 2006 -- Viet Nam has launched a new postage stamp to commemorate their hosting of the 2006 APEC year.

The VND8,000 (US$0.50) stamp features the APEC Viet Nam logo and the theme for the year in Vietnamese that translates to "Towards a dynamic community for sustainable development and prosperity."

Viet Nam's First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the 2006 Senior Officials' Meetings, LE CONG PHUNG, highlighted the value of postage stamps to cultural identity.

"During the course of building, preserving and developing a modern Vietnamese culture with deep-rooted national traits, Vietnamese stamps have played an important role in promoting the nation's cultural values and fine traditions, and creating the national pride about a land of heroism," Mr Phung said to APEC Senior Officials and Delegates at the official launch of the Stamp.

"Vietnamese stamps are a lasting spiritual asset of the society that nurtures the aesthetic feelings and ideals of every Vietnamese soul."

Mr Phung said the responsibility of hosting Viet Nam 2006 also brings with it the opportunity to showcase Vietnam's progress and importance as a destination for trade, investment and tourism.

"APEC 2006 Viet Nam is an international event of great importance for the 21 member economies.

"Hosting APEC 2006 is Viet Nam's most important contribution to the cooperation process in APEC."

Mr Phung also congratulated postal workers for their contribution to creating the new stamp and their commitment to the APEC Year.

"I'd like to highly commend the tremendous efforts and contributions made by the men and women working in the post and telecommunications service to national modernization and the building of a modern Vietnamese culture with deep-rooted national traits, especially in APEC 2006."

The launch of the stamp before Deputy Minister of Post & Telecommunications, Senior Officials representing APEC's 21 Member Economies and local government Officials took place between two days of Senior Officials' Meetings in Da Nang on September 16-17. 



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The second day of the 11th APEC Women Leader's Network (WLN) meeting continued in Ha Noi today with two plenary sessions focusing on the future direction of the WLN and on enhancing the competitiveness of businesses operated by women.

Delegates also attended a seminar hosted by the Confederation of Women's Business Councils.

The meeting of more than 400 businesspeople, academics and government officials is an annual event on the APEC calendar that seeks to improve the environment for women to contribute to economic growth in the Asia-Pacific.

In the first plenary session entitled "WLN the Second Decade: Where do we go from here?" delegates assessed the role of the WLN as a forum for enhancing the environment for women in the region.

Delegates discussed issues of relevance to women in the global economy such as education, accessing new technologies and increasing access to trade opportunities for women operated enterprises.

In this meeting a number of delegates called for consideration of a third Ministerial Meeting on Women to be scheduled in the near future. Two other Ministerial Meetings on Women have been held in the past with the first being in the Philippines in 1998 followed by Mexico in 2002. A common sentiment expressed by WLN delegates was that the growth of the knowledge based economy and the new challenges this poses for women should be addressed in a high level forum such as a ministerial meeting.

There was agreement among members that while there were a number of opportunities for women to provide input to future policy direction in the APEC Region, the WLN provided a unique opportunity to have the voice of women heard. The WLN has direct access to leaders as well as their respect and recognition, and delegates said they looked forward to finalizing their recommendations form the 11th meeting that will now be presented to ministers and leaders.

In the second plenary session for the day entitled "Towards a Dynamic Community - Enhancing the Competitiveness of Women Business for Sustainable Development and Prosperity," delegates discussed opportunities for women in the new economy.

The issue of access to ICT was discussed further and it was argued that this relates not only to access to computers, but to the wide range of telecommunications products and processes that can empower women entrepreneurs.

Delegates discussed the entrepreneurial spirit of the region's women and the fact that a great deal of the region's current success can be attributed to women business people and the work of women described as the most important resource for ensuring prosperity in the region.

The Confederation of Women's Business Councils workshop convened during the course of events during the day under the theme of "Ways to Support the Establishment of Women Enterprises."

Speakers from Korea, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and the United States of America shared their vision for strengthening entrepreneurship and received questions from the audience.

The discussion covered potential hurdles to participation in the formal sector such as approaches to banking and government assistance to assist in starting women operated businesses.

News Photos

 

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Issued by the 11th APEC Women Leaders' Network Meeting

The 11th Women's Leaders' Network (WLN) Meeting has concluded in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, with the release of a statement from delegates.

Over three days of meetings, more than four hundred delegates from APEC's Member Economies debated issues of importance for ensuring a strong and stable environment for women to expand business and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The statement can be downloaded from the APEC Website and covers the following areas:

Women's Participation in the Digital Economy

Legal Frameworks and Gender Analysis

Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (M/SME)

Human Security

Women Leaders Network and the Future

News photographs from the meeting are available for downloadand use by the media.

Outcomes from the meeting will be presented to APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers when they meet in Ha Noi on September 28-29.

The next APEC WLN Meeting will be in Port Douglas, Australia, in June 2007.



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The APEC Energy Working Group (EWG) and its sub-fora have been given approval by APEC Senior Officials to intensify its interaction and participation in activities organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Responding to a request by the Acting Lead Shepherd of the APEC Energy Working Group, Mr. John Griffiths, APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) in Da Nang agreed that increased interaction between the EWG and IEA will benefit both organizations.

The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan, said the increased interaction was in line with instructions from APEC Energy Ministers on enhancing the region's long-term approach to energy security.

"The EWG is one of the most active APEC working groups," Ambassador Toan said in his submission to Senior Officials.

"Under its umbrella, there are five EWG experts groups and two Task Forces to tackle crucial issues such as energy data collection and analysis, energy efficiency and conservation, clean fossil energy, new and renewable energy, mining and minerals, and biofuels."

In seeking to expand interaction, Mr. Griffiths highlighted the common interests of both APEC and the IEA.

"The APEC Energy Working Group complements other organisations' initiatives to promote energy security and develop cleaner and more sustainable energy," Mr Griffiths said.

"APEC and the IEA have built the foundation of their engagement through their participation in global initiatives such as the Joint Oil Data Initiative, and their cooperation on projects such as the APEC project: 'Carbon Dioxide Capture and Geological Sequestration Potential of the APEC Region'.

"Other relevant areas of IEA work which overlap with the EWG include attention to clean fossil fuels, energy efficiency, renewable energy, emergency preparedness and sustainable development."

"Our increased levels of engagement and cooperation are timely, with APEC Energy Ministers due to meet in Darwin, Australia, on 29 May 2007, to discuss how to address the region's long-term energy security challenges."Six APEC Economies are members of the IEA (Australia, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and the United States of America) and the IEA also has a strong program of cooperation with non-member economies in the region covering ASEAN, Northeast Asia, Central and South Asia, the Russian Federation and Latin America.



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Professor Bob Buckle from New Zealand has been selected as the new Chair of the APEC Economic Committee starting in 2007.

An award wining economist and Principal Advisor at the New Zealand Treasury, Professor Buckle said ensuring that APEC members engage in the regional economy will be one of the priorities of his work as Chair.

"As a policy advisor at the New Zealand Treasury, it is clear to me that no economy can afford to set domestic policy in a vacuum," Professor Buckle said after being named as Chair.

"In a world that is becoming more globally connected, what your key trading partners do matters a great deal to your own economy's performance."

Professor Buckle warned that trade barriers are not the only constraint to conducting business in the APEC region and the global economy.

"Behind-the-border conditions can have an equally significant impact on the ability of economies to trade with each other", Professor Buckle said.

"Reducing behind-the-border barriers to trade, and promoting other forms of economic cooperation, will help to lift the growth performance of the region and contribute to greater regional integration.

"Both the reduction of trade barriers, and implementation of structural reforms that improve trading conditions within economies, will also enhance the region's ability to withstand adverse economic shocks, such as the recent increase in oil prices."

With the Economic Committee mandated to coordinate structural reform activities across the APEC process, Professor Buckle said his goal would be to promote high-quality economic policy dialogue in APEC. This will facilitate well-targeted structural reforms within economies which will make it easier and more desirable to do business in the region.

"To be successful at promoting structural reform, the EC needs a medium-term policy agenda that focuses not only on improving regulatory efficiency, but also one that focuses on strengthening economic infrastructure."

Professor Buckle said he was honored to be elected Chair of such an important Committee and to be contributing to APEC's ongoing achievements.

"APEC has made considerable progress on trade liberalisation in the last decade.

"These trade developments have been a significant factor contributing to both economic growth in the region as well as to the region's rising importance as an engine of world economic growth."

Professor Buckle currently leads the New Zealand Treasury's programme on macroeconomic policy priorities and research and is Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Professor Buckle is also the recipient of the 2003 NZIER Economics Award for his contributions to economics in New Zealand.

Appointed by a consensus decision by the APEC Senior Officials meeting in Viet Nam, the position of APEC Economic Committee Chair is for a period of two years. The committee meets two times each year.



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The first of the series of meetings leading up to the 13th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial Meeting took place in Ha Noi today.

Meeting under the theme of 'Building Micro Enterprise Capacity for Market Integration,' the APEC Micro Enterprise Sub-Group considered ways to expand APEC action to create new market opportunities, increase access to resources for micro enterprises and enhance a business enabling environment for micro enterprise.

Newsphotos are available for download.

This will now be followed with two days of meetings by the APEC SME Working Group before the SME Ministerial Meeting on September 28-29.

The Director General of Viet Nam's Agency for SME Development in the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, opened the Micro Enterprise Sub-Group Meeting. He highlighted the difficulties faced by governments in the APEC region in making it easier for the millions of micro enterprises around the region to undertake business activities.

"Due to their sheer number, micro enterprises are difficult to reach and some of these businesses may be mobile or operating on a part time basis," Mr. Trung said to the opening session of the meeting.

"It is also the case that there is a high turnover rate of micro entrepreneurs."

In highlighting these problems Mr. Trung used Viet Nam's experience in dealing with micro enterprises as an example for other APEC Member Economies.

"Our policy measures for micro enterprises have focused mainly on simplifying procedures for setting up a business and on facilitating local training programs," he said.

"We also have micro credit facilities and some policy lending associated with poverty alleviation."

Hosting the SME Ministerial Meeting and related meetings including the APEC Micro Enterprise Sub-Group meeting is particularly fitting as Viet Nam has such a high proportion of SMEs and Micro Enterprises.

"There are about 2.7 million micro enterprises, constituting over 97% of all business entities in Viet Nam," Mr. Trung said.

"The majority of these micro enterprises are registered as household businesses and a significant proportion of these enterprises are owned or managed by women. Many are engaged in retail trade, manufacturing, hospitality and transportation while a number of micro- scale manufacturers are located in clusters."

The meeting endorsed a series of new projects that will build the capacity of micro enterprise operators and the agencies that support them in the region. These include an initiative to establish a set of best practices for supporting micro enterprise development and a study of existing financial and policy assistance measures for micro enterprises.

Issues likely to be on the agenda for APEC SME Ministers when they meet later in the week include efforts to reduce barriers to SMEs accessing international markets, initiatives to enhance the ability of SMEs to comply with standards and conformance rules and projects to help SMEs capitalize on their intellectual property rights.



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The social value of small business was highlighted at the opening of the Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) meeting today in Ha Noi.

Viet Nam's Vice Minister for Planning and Investment, Truong Van Doan, welcomed delegates to the meeting that is taking place in preparation for the SME Minister's Meeting on Thursday.

Vice Minister Doan provided the delegates with an overview of recent SME development in Viet Nam and the essential role that this plays in society.

"SMEs in Viet Nam are not only economically but also socially important, particularly as a source of employment generation," Mr. Doan said in his opening address.

"SMEs are particularly important for helping people to realize their aspirations and self-sufficiency.

"Viet Nam has been utilizing both physical and human resources to narrow the development gap with other economies in the region, in parallel to hunger eradication, poverty alleviation and building social equality."

The SMEWG is meeting over two days prior to the SME Ministerial Meeting on Thursday, September 28, and Friday, September 29.

A large portion of today's meeting covered progress on the SMEWG's work plan for 2006.

A number of delegates have also made presentations throughout the first day of the SMEWG on the latest policy developments in their economies. This includes best practices for establishing policies to deal with barriers to SME expansion and other challenges faced by the operators of smaller businesses.

The SMEWG meeting will conclude tomorrow and will include a discussion on inputs to the "Hanoi Declaration on SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment" that will be delivered by Ministers on Friday.

News Photos

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Chair of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group Meeting, Mr. Bui Liemo.

 

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Vietnam's Vice Minister for Planning and Investment, Truong Van Doan.



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The APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) meeting concluded in Ha Noi this afternoon following two days of meetings that reviewed progress over the past year.

The meeting also finalized preparations for the 13th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting that will take place tomorrow and Friday. This included discussing inputs to the 'Hanoi Declaration on SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment' that will be finalized and released by ministers following their meeting.

Chair of the SMEWG Meeting and Deputy Director General of the Viet Nam Agency for SME Development, Mr. Bui Liem, reported to the meeting on progress made in the SMEWG 2006 Work Plan since the last meeting that included a number of new projects.

"The APEC SMEWG has made progress over the last year in increasing the capacity of small business and enhancing their contribution to our regional community," he said.

"Projects have included an 'APEC Local Cultural Industries Virtual Exposition' that placed special attention on the importance to assist SMEs and micro-enterprises that have high export potential but lack a channel to conduct export.

"An 'APEC Local Cultural Industry Market Development Forum' was an initiative hosted by Chinese Taipei this year. The forum focused on adopting e-commerce technologies to promote international trade and enhance the capability of SMEs and micro-enterprises on exploring new business opportunities in overseas markets.

"The United States also led an initiative to improve understanding and awareness of the hidden wealth contained in SME intellectual property rights."

Delegates were also briefed on the success of the APEC SME Seminar on Support for Local and Cottage Industries and the APEC "One Village One Product" Seminar that were held on 22-23 September, in Ha Noi. At these seminars members were able to discuss shared experiences and measures to improve the needs of SMEs to enhance competitiveness and to strengthen partnerships with the Private Sector.

The meeting also reviewed the implementation of the Daegu Initiative on SME Innovation Action Plan that was launched at the last SME Ministerial Meeting in Korea in September 2005. Implementation of the initiative has included a number of research and skills building projects around the region. These include a comparison study of APEC SME innovation policies and a Study on the economic impact of innovative SME promotion strategies. Details on the Daegu Initiative are available at www.apec-smeic.org

The 13th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting will bring together ministers and their delegates from APEC's 21 Member Economies to discuss issues of consequence to small businesses across the APEC Region.

Ministers will hold a News Conference after they deliver the 'Hanoi Declaration on SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment' at the conclusion of the meeting.

News Photo

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The first release of the number of stolen or lost passports detected by the APEC Regional Movement Alerts System has been compiled by participating APEC Member Economies.

The system that was initially trialed between Australia and the United States in 2005 and expanded to include New Zealand in 2006, has detected 418 invalid passports as travelers attempted to pass through immigration.

The Chair of the APEC Business Mobility Group, Mr. Vincent McMahon, said the system, that is now set to expand to include more APEC Member Economies, is proving its worth.

"This groundbreaking new APEC system is an important tool against those who seek to defeat border systems and strengthens the fight against criminals and terrorists," said Mr. McMahon.

"It operates in real-time across borders".

"The new figures on passports detected by the APEC system highlights its success in protecting the safety and security of people in the Asia-Pacific.

"With the system now fully operational we are consulting with other APEC Member Economies who are likely join the program in the coming months.

"The RMAS adds to other APEC measures in place such as the APEC Business Travel Card that enables business people to travel to participating economies without separately applying for a visa. The entry of cardholders is then facilitated through the provision of express immigration lanes at airports and borders."

The following figures indicate the total number of Australian, United States and New Zealand lost, stolen and otherwise invalid passports that have been detected since commencing the RMAS pilot up until 12 August 2006 (The figures begin in 2005 for Australia and the United States, and March 2006 for New Zealand)

 

Australia  174United States 133New Zealand    111Total               418

The framework governing the new system was agreed by APEC members at the recent Meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Da Nang, Viet Nam, in September.

The system ensures that privacy is protected as no private personal data is released by participating economies. The only information that is transmitted is a request for verification to the passport issuing economy to establish authenticity status of the passport, and the subsequent positive or negative response from the issuing economy.

Once an alert has been transmitted authorities in the local border control area are able to investigate the matter further and ascertain whether a crime is being committed.

With the adoption of the framework the remaining 18 APEC Member Economies are now able to join the system.



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Issued by the 13th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting

The challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a result of globalization were highlighted by Viet Nam's Prime Minister at the opening of the 13th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting in Ha Noi today.

Citing the achievements of SMEs in ensuring the dynamic growth of the Asia-Pacific region, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung noted areas where small businesses require greater support.

"In addition to the great advantages resulting from globalization, SMEs in the region, particularly those in developing economies face pressure from competition, unpredictable fluctuations in financial and monetary markets and changes in the price of inputs to production," Mr. Dung said.

"SMEs must also deal with rapid changes in science and technology which require a significant amount of capital for technology renovation and the improvement of human resources quality.

"In order to sustain the rapid growth of the regional economy, there is an urgent need to create more favourable conditions for SMEs. This includes improving access to finance and technology, expanding the market for domestic consumption of SME products and export encouragement.

"We also need to enhance the linkages among SMEs within each APEC economy and in the region as a whole."

The ministerial meeting began with an informal retreat in the morning session followed by the formal plenary in the afternoon.

Ministers provided the meeting with updates on SME development in their economies and discussed solutions to a number of pressing issues. These included the difficulties faced by many small business in gaining access to formal sector finance, and the hidden value of intellectual property rights that are often posses by small businesses.

The ministerial meeting continues on Friday morning with a final formal session before ministers will hold a news conference and release the 'Hanoi Declaration on SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment' and a joint ministerial statement.

The Hanoi Declaration is a landmark document for APEC's SME work that identifies measures of importance for the ongoing health of small business in the region. These include domestic reforms in areas such as the reduction of red tape and bureaucracy, and the importance of business incubation, innovation and entrepreneurship support from regional governments.



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Issued by the 13th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting

APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers have released the "Hanoi Declaration on Strengthening SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment" to assist small businesses deal with the challenges posed by globalization.

The Ha Noi Declaration was agreed and endorsed today following two days of meetings by Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers from APEC Member Economies and two days of meetings by the APEC SME Working Group.

Chair of the Meeting and Viet Nam's Minister of Planning and Investment, Mr. Vo Hong Phuc, welcomed the Ha Noi Declaration as providing governments in the region with a clear set of measures that are essential for SMEs to grow and prosper.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of our region, not only because of the economic benefits but for their social role," Mr. Phuc said.

"SMEs and Micro Enterprises employ the greatest number of people in our region and so ensure people have income for their families and are able to develop their skills.

"However, globalization has brought with it change that has increased pressure on SMEs as they try to compete in the regional economy.

"The Ha Noi Declaration specifies measures for economies to reduce red tape, create export opportunities and share knowledge to create the right environment for SME development.

"To reach APEC's Bogor Goals on free and open trade and investment, we need to ensure that the small business sector remains vibrant and innovative. The Ha Noi Declaration is a tool to help governments ensure the ongoing input of SMEs for reaching APEC's free and open trade and investment goals."

At the conclusion of the meeting Ministers also released their Joint Ministerial Statement based on the meeting's theme of "Strengthening SME Competitiveness for Trade and Investment"

The statement reviews work carried out by APEC over the past year of strengthening the capacity of SMEs and micro enterprises in the region, and establishes priorities to be worked on before the next SME Ministerial Meeting.

These more operational areas of the work of the SME Working Group and other APEC fora cover areas that include promoting SME innovation, intellectual property rights and pandemic preparedness.

The Hanoi Declaration and Joint Ministerial Statement are available here:

http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/Ministerial-Statements/Small-and-Medium-Enterprise/2006_sme.aspx

The next APEC SME Ministerial Meeting is scheduled for Hobart, Australia, in March 2007.



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Chinese Taipei has signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing US$1 million to assist APEC members to strengthen human security capacity building in their economies.

The MOU identifies the details of the contribution that will be provided to the APEC Support Fund for projects in developing economies for areas such as counter-terrorism, health security, emergency preparedness and energy security.

Chinese Taipei Senior Official John Chen said the commitment will benefit a range of APEC capacity building activities.

"The funding epitomizes the commitment of Chinese Taipei to all the good causes of APEC, especially human security," Mr Chen said after the signing ceremony.

"The whole of humanity is threatened not only by natural disasters but also by pandemics, earthquakes and terrorism.

"Chinese Taipei donated this US$ 1 million to the APEC Support Fund following the leadership of Australia and I hope that it can be well-used in all the APEC prospects.

Ambassador Tran Trong Toan, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, welcomed Chinese Taipei's commitment that will produce tangible benefits for the APEC region.

"The generous contribution from Chinese Taipei is the first which contributes specifically to capacity building in human security under APEC's economic and technical cooperation agenda," Ambassador Toan said at the signing ceremony.

"The fund allows for flexibility to develop special sub-funds for specific purposes under APEC's wide-ranging agenda on economic and technical cooperation.

"I would like to express our high appreciation and sincere thanks to Chinese Taipei for its generous contribution. I look forward to receiving project proposals on capacity building in human security for funding under this new sub-fund."

The MOU signing took place on the eve of the APEC Senior Officials' Meeting that takes place in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29-30.

The APEC Support Fund was established through an initial contribution from Australia to meet capacity building needs in high priority sectors relating to economic and social development. The Fund supports projects for developing member economies in the APEC region.

Sound bites of the signing ceramony are available.



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Issued by the 4th APEC Senior Officials Meeting Policy Dialogue on RTAs/FTAs

Business leaders and government officials from APEC Member Economies have met in Ho Chi Minh City to clarify the business relevance of Regional Trade Arrangements and Free Trade Agreements (RTAs/FTAs).

The 2006 APEC Policy Dialogue on RTAs/FTAs was the first to involve business representatives that included leading executives from FedEx, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Trade Business Organization Network.

FedEx Express Managing Director and United States alternative representative to the APEC Business Advisory Council, Mr. Ralph Carter, highlighted the business community?s desire that current WTO negotiations produce a comprehensive agreement.

"Most businesses, if offered a choice, would prefer to liberalize trade through the multilateral or WTO approach," Mr. Carter said to the dialogue meeting.

"However, as the Doha round has shown us, the WTO process is becoming much more difficult.

"Free trade agreements are therefore an important compliment to the WTO and can be quite successful in stimulating trade. FTAs can open up new markets, expand investment opportunities, lower the cost of doing business and provide important legal protections for investors and operators."

The First Deputy Minister of Viet Nam?s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. LE Cong Phung, highlighted the value of RTAs and FTAs to APEC's ultimate goals.

"High quality RTAs and FTAs are important avenues to achieve APEC's free and open trade and investment," Mr Le said at the meeting.

"The current situation in Geneva regarding DDA negotiations, as you all know, may add more new RTAs/FTAs to our inventory."

"In this dialogue today we wish to hear practical views from private sector representatives on the impacts of RTAs and FTAs and what you expect from APEC work in this area."

The meeting was the fourth diolague by APEC Senior Officials on RTAs/FTAs since the issue first formally appeared on the APEC Agenda in 2003. APEC has since established a comprehensive database on RTAs/FTAs undertaken by APEC members that is now available on APEC website.

The proliferation of RTAs/FTAs in recent years has seen the signing of 34 RTAs/FTAs in the APEC Region and around 325 RTAs/FTAs world-wide that have been presented to the GATT and WTO. Of these more than 200 were agreed over the last eleven years. By the end of 2005 the WTO estimates that more than fifty-one percent of all world merchandise was traded under preferential agreements.



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In preparation for the Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade this week, the APEC Business Symposium on Trade and Investment began today in Ho Chi Minh City.

Taking place over two days, the symposium brought Ministers and Officials from APEC economies together with representatives of the APEC business community to discuss how to move the APEC trade and investment agenda forward.

Delegates to the symposium discussed a range of measures to facilitate growth, trade, investment and innovation in the Asia-Pacific.

Chair of the Ministerial Meeting, Viet Nam's Trade Minister, Truong Dinh Tuyen, welcomed the participation of the business sector.

"We see this event as a key opportunity to strengthen Public-Private Partnerships in pursuit of further trade liberalization and growth in the APEC region," said Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen.

"The symposium offers the perfect platform to present trade and investment opportunities in Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City to the Asia-Pacific community and encourage dynamic interaction between the Vietnamese business community and their APEC counterparts."

Participants at the symposium included Viet Nam Minister of Trade, Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen; Senior Adviser at New York Life, Sandra J Kristoff; New Zealand Minister of Trade, Mr. Phil Goff; Vice President Asia Pacific Glaxo Smith Kline, Stephen W. Cook; and Senior Vice president International Relations and Public Policy, Asia Pacific Time Warner, Hugh Stephens.

The Symposium is taking place at a critical time with APEC Trade Ministers set to address key global and regional issues including the status of the WTO Doha Development Agenda, the increasing number of Free Trade Agreements and Regional Trade Arrangements, and the Busan Business Agenda.



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The Second formal APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) for 2006 begins tomorrow. The agenda includes APEC's role in concluding current WTO negotiations, ensuring best practices for the signing of free trade agreements and enhancing human security.

Following the informal meeting of Senior Officials today the plenary session will begin tomorrow and lay the foundations for the Meeting of APEC Ministers' Responsible for Trade in Ho Chi Minh City on June 1-2.

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam and Chair of the 2006 Senior Officials Meetings, Mr. Le Cong Phung, said one of the most important issues for Senior Officials would be the consideration of input from the APEC Geneva Caucus on current WTO negotiations.

"The global economy is at a delicate stage of WTO negotiations and APEC is making progress on identifying a way forward," Mr. Le said after the informal meeting.

"With the conclusion of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization Negotiations expected by the end of 2006, APEC has an important role to play in overcoming differences between the wide range of trading members involved in negotiations.

"APEC represents a diversity of developing and developed economies and accounts for around half of global trade flows so we are in a position to make a substantial contribution to WTO negotiations.

"The Geneva Caucus, the group of Member Economy representatives based in Geneva, has provided input that will be considered in a standalone statement on the DDA by APEC Trade Ministers."

"Senior Officials will consider the recommendations of the Geneva Caucus before this is presented to ministers."

The APEC 2006 SOM Chair said other pressing issues to be considered by APEC Senior Officials include improving the quality and transparency of Trade Arrangements and Free Trade Agreements (RTAs/FTAs) in the region.

"It is quite clear that RTAs and FTAs are important components of the regional economy so APEC is working to ensure new agreements implemented by Member Economies are of the highest quality," said Mr. Le.

"APEC adopted a series of model measures for undertaking RTAs and FTAs in 2005 and now these are being further refined."

Senior Officials will also consider the range of recent APEC issues intended to enhance human security in the Asia-Pacific. This will include the latest updates from the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force, the APEC Health Task Force and the APEC Task Force on Emergency Preparedness.

"The recent tragic earthquake in Indonesia, the potential for a pandemic influenza outbreak and the ongoing threat of terrorism are all issues that harm the social and economic health of our regional economy," Mr. Le said.

"APEC will continue to strengthen measures designed to prepare for potential crises and to deal with a disaster once it occurs."

News photographs from the Informal Meeting are now available.



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The 12th Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) has concluded with ministers issuing a statement calling for urgent action on specific issues that are critical for breaking the impasse in the current round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.

The "MRT Stand-Alone Statement on the Doha Development Agenda" is specific in affirming APEC Trade Ministers' support for utilizing the "Swiss formula" in calculating tariff reductions for improving market access for non-agricultural goods. Ministers stated their support for the use of two ambitious coefficients applying to developed and developing Members which they anticipate will deliver real and meaningful improvements to market access and ensure the benefits of the DDA are shared by all economies.

On enhancing market access for agricultural goods, Ministers have agreed to make effective cuts to trade-distorting domestic support and to the elimination of all forms of export subsidies by 2013.

Chair of the Ministerial Meeting, Viet Nam's Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, welcomed the outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting that he said will provide significant political momentum to help the WTO conclude the current round of trade negotiations.

"APEC Ministers representing around half of global trade flows have made a very personal commitment to break the impasse at the WTO and conclude DDA negotiations," Minister Truong said at the end of the ministerial meeting.

"APEC is a barometer for the broader WTO membership in that APEC Member Economies represent a diverse spectrum of interests and levels of economic development. We hope our commitment here today provides the impetus to conclude the DDA and share the benefits of a stronger global multilateral trading system."

During their two day meeting Ministers also covered a number of other issues that are important for the achievement of APEC's free trade and investment goals and the ongoing economic health of the region.

This includes the strong support and endorsement by Ministers for the structure of the Action Plan to Implement the Busan Roadmap towards the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies. In this regard, Ministers instructed Senior Officials to intensify efforts to develop a strong, balanced and concrete action plan for endorsement at the next APEC Ministers' Meeting.

Ministers also addressed APEC work on averting a serious crisis in the event of an Avian Influenza pandemic, measures to ensure that new free trade agreements are transparent and of high quality and direction to domestic government officials to deal with counterfeiting and intellectual property rights piracy.

Ministers called for the strengthening of capacity to deal with the potential of an influenza pandemic that is part of the 'APEC Initiative on Preparing for and Mitigating an Influenza Pandemic.'

"Next week a regional simulation exercise will take place that will test the emergency responses and communication channels among APEC Member Economies in the event of a pandemic," Minister Truong said.

"Ministers look forward to the success of this exercise in ensuring the preparedness of APEC to deal with any future pandemic."

The growth of new Free Trade Arrangements and Regional Trade Agreements was also discussed. Ministers and government officials have been instructed to continue with work to develop useful model measures on FTAs/RTAs that will be presented to APEC Ministers and Leaders for endorsement in November 2006.

Ministers also called on Member Economies to continue their work on two additional model guidelines to strengthen APEC's work to counter the production and trafficking of counterfeit and pirated products.

These include measures to ensure that supply chains are free of counterfeit and pirated goods as well as the development of model guidelines for effective IPR public awareness campaigns.

The full text of the ministerial statements are available.

The two day ministerial meeting was held in Ho Chi Minh City and included input from the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, and representatives from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) as official observer organizations to the APEC Process.

The next ministerial level meeting to be held as part of APEC 2006 Viet Nam will be the 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Ha Noi on September 4-8.



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APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade will continue to build momentum for a successful conclusion to the current round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations at their meeting in Viet Nam today and tomorrow.

News photographs available for download.

In the meeting that is also attended by the Director General of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, ministers are considering the text of a ministerial statement containing a series of specific proposals for consideration by WTO Members.

The two day ministerial meeting began with one day of informal meetings that will be followed by the formal plenary session and the release of the ministerial statement on June 2.

Other issues on the agenda include plans for the implementation of the Busan Roadmap to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals and plans for a significant reduction in the transaction costs related to conducting business in the APEC Region. Ministers will also continue with work on the development of high quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements and review latest developments in the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative.

Chair of the Ministerial Meeting, Viet Nam's Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, said the work of APEC Member Economy representatives based in Geneva will be taken into consideration for a statement that should be specific in its recommendations to progress WTO negotiations.

"APEC Trade Ministers will deliver a strong and credible message to advance WTO negotiations that goes beyond a political statement and includes specific proposals," Minister Truong said.

"APEC has a crucial role to play in salvaging WTO negotiations. APEC's membership represents a wide spectrum of WTO Members from developing to developed areas and from a range of different cultures. Our economies also account for around half of global trade volume.

"APEC Member Economies based in Geneva have been working for several months on building consensus to advance WTO negotiations for a successful conclusion by the end of 2006."

APEC Trade Ministers are also reviewing progress on the success of the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan which sought to reduce transaction costs by five percent over the past five years and then consider plans for another five percent reduction by 2010.

"The reduction of business transaction costs by five per cent since 2001 was estimated to stimulate an additional US$280 billion in annual trade," Minister Truong said.

"The success of the Trade Facilitation Action Plan has benefited business operators and the communities they serve around the Asia-Pacific. A further targeted reduction in transaction costs will provide additional direct benefits for regional commerce.

"Ministers will consider a proposed framework for delivering the further five percent reduction in transaction costs."

Also on the agenda, Ministers is a review of progress in implementing the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative, including the development of guidelines on intellectual property rights public awareness. Ministers will also consider progress on APEC's work on anti-corruption and transparency, secure trade and economic impact of avian influenza pandemic.



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The work of women e-Commerce entrepreneurs from around the Asia-Pacific has been given a boost this week with the "APEC Women's e-Biz Training 2006" that concluded today in Seoul, Korea.

Held over six days, the training program sought to increase the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs, women leaders and policy makers involved with gender issues to improve their knowledge and skills in e-business.

Delegates from APEC Member Economies participated in a range of e-lectures that covered topics such as emerging technologies in e-Business, business planning, branding and marketing strategy development, skills sessions on building websites and group sessions where participants were to formulate a collaborative business plan based on the learning they've acquired throughout the training course.

Dr. Kio Chung Kim, Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Women's Network Center of Sookmyung Women's University and the organizer of this meaningful event said the training has sought to impart new knowledge and skills for women to prosper in the new world of online business.

"This APEC program has equipped a number of women with e-business skills that they can use and impart to women in their economies so that they can succeed in the knowledge based economy," Dr. Kim said.

"A number of the participants were from areas where opportunities had often been denied to women in the past. Now the women who attended this APEC training will have an opportunity to return home and make a difference."

One of the participants, Ms Josepina D. Parilla, the Founder of 'A Women's Livelihood Project' in the Philippines said the training would provide a boost to her and other women in her economy.

"I've been encouraging each and every woman in my country to be entrepreneurs," Ms. Parilla said at the conclusion of the Women's e-Biz Training 2006 Week.

"I feel like I am finally able to conduct business with other parts of the world now that I'm finally connected to the online business world.

"So I am happy that I got to create my own website for my business.

"I am also very happy that I have networked with different business women from all over the world."

Dr. Kio Chung Kim also highlighted the potential of women entrepreneurs in the APEC region.

"Women in the Asia-Pacific have tremendous entrepreneurial zeal and when barriers are overcome, are stepping up to the challenges of online business," Dr. Kim said.

Lectures covered areas such as the development of entrepreneurship, Internet security and ethics, intellectual property rights and managing customer relations online.

The training also included business matching sessions where a number of Korean women CEOs introduced their products and services that had proved successful in the Korean market and sought business partners among the participants.

The training program was held at the Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul and was organized by the APEC Women's e-Biz Center in association with the Asia Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The APEC Women's e-Biz Center was established at the Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center of the Sookmyung Women's University of Korea with the sponsorship of Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and APEC. The core role of the centre is to implement the APEC project 'Initiative for APEC Women's Participation in the Digital Economy' that is running from 2005 to 2009. The initiative is involved in research, e-Business Training, eBiz Community Building and policy forum aimed at enhancing the participation of women in the digital economy.



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The preparedness for the region to protect sea, land and air transportation supply chains from serious threats has been strengthened during a two day symposium that concluded in Singapore today. Attended by more than 350 policymakers, government officials and private sector representatives, the APEC Symposium on Total Supply Chain Security covered a range of topical issues relating to threats and vulnerabilities in the global supply chain.

Delegates exchanged views and information on best practices for implementation in their economies and companies.

The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan, welcomed Singapore's initiative to hold the Symposium on an issue that is of core importance to the Asia-Pacific.

"As most of the world's largest seaports and busiest airports are located in APEC economies, ensuring the stability, security and efficiency of supply chains has become an issue of vital significance for APEC," Ambassador Toan said at the Symposium.

"APEC Member Economies account for 40% of world population, 56% of world GDP and 48% of world trade, so our region depends heavily on the efficiency of supply chains to fuel our long lasting and high rate of economic growth.

"With the increased trade flows, protecting the sea, land and air lanes that transport goods and materials has become crucial for stability in the global economy.

"Even the slightest interruption to a supply chain can produce a multiplier effect that damages the business activities of a range of suppliers, transportation companies, production houses and retailers of the goods that are delayed or lost. As a consequence economies face potential downturn, business growth is undermined and jobs are lost."

In his keynote speech, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Professor S Jayakumar, identified some of the threats and areas of vulnerability in regional supply chains

"As terrorism itself has globalised, we have witnessed a spate of horrific and sophisticated attacks in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia," Professor Jayakumar said.

"Notwithstanding recent successes in counter-terrorism, the threat from international terrorism is real and will remain with us for the long-haul.

"Whether we are public or private sector, we all have a stake in keeping this supply chain intact."

The symposium included more than 20 speakers from government agencies including representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, New Zealand and China. Senior industry figures from companies including Sony, IBM and Federal Express also presented the business perspective on regional supply chain security issues and the future improvements that they felt were required.

The text for the following speeches is available:

[https://www]

Professor S Jayakumar, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law

Keynote Speech

[https://www]

Ambassador Tran Trong Toan, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat

Opening Remarks

Closing Remarks 



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The adoption of smart passports by all APEC Member Economies will be advanced with a three day capacity building exercise to be attended by regional immigration officials in Hong Kong on July 18-20.

Taking place as part of an APEC Business Mobility Group (BMG) project, the Workshop on Biometric Technology in Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs) is an opportunity for all APEC economies to work through the challenges that may be experienced as they introduce biometric passports.

Mr. Raymond Wong, Assistant Director, Hong Kong Immigration Department, and the Chair and Host of the Workshop, welcomed the event as an opportunity to enhance security and make it easier for legitimate travelers to move around the region.

"APEC Member Economies are leading the world in introducing passport technology that will undermine the activities of terrorists and other criminals," Mr. Wong said in the lead-up to the workshop.

"The improved passport technology also speeds up immigration checks at airports and other borders.

"Passports are among the most valuable documents in mass use today and it is essential that we use the latest technology to protect them from theft and fraud.

"There are a number of issues to consider when economies introduce the new machine readable travel documents. This includes the deployment of the right biometric systems to best suit the needs of their border conditions and traffic.

"The introduction of biometric technology in passports and other travel documents is a complex and challenging process but is rewarded by increased protection from terrorist attack and criminal actions."

The workshop in Hong Kong, China will cover areas such as the manufacture and storage of MRTDs, choosing the best biometrics that might include face, fingerprint and iris information and privacy issues.

All APEC economies have agreed to issue MRTDs by 2008 and will accelerate the replacement of older passports with MRTDs.

The APEC BMG is also working to assist APEC Member Economies adopt International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for the issuing of smart passports.



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Preparations for APEC Peru 2008 moved a step closer this week with an official visit to Lima by the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat that is based in Singapore.

Ambassador Tran Trong Toan, who is a senior diplomat from Viet Nam, will meet with President Alejandro Toledo and Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Oscar Maúrtua, during his visit on July 17-18. Ambassador Toan will also meet with senior government officials and deliver a speech on APEC at the University of Lima.

Ambassador Toan said, his visit to Peru will provide an opportunity to share information on the challenges and rewards that come with hosting the APEC process.

"In 2008 the eyes of the world will be on Peru as Leaders, Ministers and other delegates from APEC Member Economies meet for a series of the most important meetings in the annual global political calendar," Ambassador Toan said from Singapore prior to his departure.

"I very much look forward to visiting Peru this week when I will have great honour to call on the President, Foreign Minister and other dignitaries.

"Since joining APEC in 1998, Peru has made significant contributions to the progress of APEC, which accounts for 57% of world GDP and around 50% of the world's trade. APEC includes several of the world's largest and most dynamic economies. With the hosting of the APEC year in 2008, Peru will play a vital role in enhancing the linkage among those economies from the two sides of the Pacific".

"Hosting the APEC process is a great honour and high responsibility that requires long-term and meticulous planning. As host of the APEC process in 2008, Peru has already started preparations for this important event with the PERU APEC 2008 National Executive Committee established as early as in November 2004. I firmly believe that under the able leadership of the Government of Peru, APEC year 2008 will be crowned with great success."

Ambassador Toan's speech at the University of Lima, that has been organized by the Network of Peruvian Studies in the Asia-Pacific, is entitled "APEC Vietnam 2006 - A Response to a Changing World." 
Other meetings on the Executive Director's agenda include a meeting with Ambassador Allan Wagner, Secretary General of the Andean Community and a meeting with Peru's members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). Ambassador Toan will also inaugurate a seminar on APEC Projects for Government officials.

Ambassador Toan is the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat during the APEC 2006 Viet Nam year. A Peruvian diplomat will be appointed Deputy Director of the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore during the 2007 Australia APEC year. The Peruvian Ambassador will then be appointed as Executive Director for the 2008 Peru APEC year.

APEC was formed in 1989 to promote economic cooperation and growth in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC focuses on trade and investment liberalization and facilitation as well as economic and technical cooperation. In the recent years, the scope of cooperation has been further expanded to include areas such as human security, anti-corruption, tourism and cultural exchange. APEC also undertakes numerous capacity building programs each year intended to improve the skills of people in developing areas and help bridge the development gap in the APEC Region.

Peru and Viet Nam became Member Economies of APEC at the same time in 1998.



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Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former President Fidel V. Ramos will lead discussions with senior Asia-Pacific business figures when they meet in Cebu, the Philippines, on August 12-15 for the Third 2006 Meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

Made up of senior business people that are hand picked by the Leaders of APEC's 21 Member Economies, ABAC meets four times each year in a different location to address issues of concern to the regional business community. Through this process ABAC prepares a series of recommendations that are delivered to APEC Leaders at their annual meeting. This year the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting will take place in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, on November 18-19.

The ABAC Cebu Meeting will also include a Premiere Conference to celebrate the group's tenth anniversary, and will bring together current and past members and eminent persons to examine where the region has come from and prospects for future business facilitation and trade liberalization.

Other key topics to be discussed will include business views on the state of WTO DDA negotiations, a study exploring the idea of an Asia-Pacific FTA, and preparations for the group's meeting with APEC Leaders in November in Ha Noi.

Guest speakers at the meeting include:

Saturday August 12
- H.E. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines
- Jagdish Bhagwati. Columbia University Professor of Economics & Law

Sunday August 13
- The Hon. Fidel V. Ramos, Former President of the Philippines
- Supachai Panitchpakdi, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Secretary General

Monday August 14
- Juan Miguel Luz, International Rural Reconstruction Institute;
- Paul Peters, Opportunity International;

Vision and photographs of meetings in progress can be arranged only by prior agreement with the ABAC Philippines or ABAC International Secretariat Offices.



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Gold Coast, Australia, August 2, 2006 -- APEC's support for World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, the regional financial outlook and human security issues are among the core topics for discussion at the APEC Australia 2007 Symposium taking place this week.

Around 160 delegates from APEC Member Economies, senior executives and academics are taking part in the discussions that will conclude with a meeting of APEC Senior Officials on Friday to discuss the outcomes of the Symposium.

With Australia preparing to host APEC 2007, the symposium follows the practice established in previous years by Viet Nam and Korea as they have prepared to Chair the APEC process.

Many of the issues covered at the two-day symposium are anticipated to be of high priority in the APEC 2007 Year.

The symposium opened with a session on APEC's trade and investment role in light of the suspension of WTO negotiations last week.

The session was moderated by Australia's Senior Official to APEC, David Spencer, who posed a series of questions relating to APEC's multilateral trade negotiations considering that the ultimate fate of WTO negotiations will be clearer by the start of 2007.

Panelists and delegates shared a range of opinions on how APEC may need to review its trade and investment liberalization and facilitation agenda, and whether APEC should encourage momentum towards more bilateral, plurilateral and sub-regional FTAs or consider an APEC-wide free-trade area.

The afternoon session on the symposium's first day considered barriers to trade that still exist despite APEC's strong liberalization record over the past decade. The range of "behind-the-border" impediments that are now viewed as being as serious as barriers at the border were also discussed.

The core question put to panelists by the moderator, Peter Drysdale from the Australia-Japan Research Centre at the Australian National University, was whether or not APEC should look to new directions, targets and milestones in relation to trade liberalization.

The symposium continues tomorrow with sessions on the regional financial outlook that will consider efforts that can be adopted to redress imbalances in the global economy and efforts to promote investment flows into emerging markets.

Regional human security will also be discussed and cover areas that have become increasingly important to the APEC agenda recently including counter-terrorism, emergency and disaster preparedness and energy security.

The final session tomorrow afternoon will look at APEC's role in the region's economic architecture in relation to the rise of new forums for interaction in the global economy.

Australia will become the host of the APEC Process at the conclusion of the APEC Viet Nam 2006 Year that will culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in November this year.



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APEC's 21 Member Economies have delivered a statement outlining APEC's efforts in confronting the HIV/AIDS pandemic to the XVI International AIDS Conference being held in Toronto this week.

APEC Leaders and Ministers recognize the importance of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the APEC region and have made it an increasingly important component of the APEC Human Security Agenda .

They have instructed government departments in all economies to work together to combat AIDS and to provide people living with HIV/AIDS every opportunity to live with dignity as productive working members of society.

Ongoing efforts include improving the management of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. APEC initiatives call for the provision of HIV/AIDS education for employees at all levels and include programs to encourage employers to adopt the International Labour Organization's Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS.

A series of APEC capacity building projects have been undertaken to enhance the skills of government departments to better respond to the spread of HIV/AIDS and to improve the living standards of people already living with HIV/AIDS.

This has included projects to gain a better understanding of the situation of migrant-mobile workers and their enhanced vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

APEC Ministers have also stressed the need to enhance prevention, treatment, and care capacity in developing economies, including the provision of anti-retroviral drugs in developing economies.

APEC continues to cooperate with specialized international organizations in dealing with HIV/AIDS including United Nations agencies such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The text of the APEC Statement delivered today is available for download.



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APEC has taken another step in the expansion of a new system that will prevent stolen and lost passports from being used for travel by terrorists and other criminals.

Currently in operation as a pilot trial in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the Regional Movement Alert List (RMAL) system is now anticipated to expand to other APEC members.

At border crossings using the RMAL system, when a passenger checks-in for a flight or arrives at a border crossing details from their passport are sent to the economy or country that issued the passport. If the passport has been reported as being stolen or lost, an alert will be relayed back to the border point the passenger is attempting to cross for relevant authorities to investigate further.

A three-day RMAL workshop that concluded yesterday in Pattaya, was held to expand knowledge of the practicalities of the RMAL for senior government officials who will now be in a position to consider implementing the system in their economies.

Vincent McMahon, the Convenor of the APEC Business Mobility Group, the APEC forum charged with overseeing the expansion of the RMAL, said the system provides greater safety for the citizens of participating APEC economies and for airline travelers.

"There are more than 3 million passports that have been reported stolen or lost in the APEC Region and some of these will be in the hands of terrorists and other criminals," Mr. McMahon said.

"Before the introduction of RMAL there was no way to detect when these passports were being used to cross borders outside of the country where they were issued. The days of terrorists and other criminals easily traveling on stolen or lost passports are coming to an end."

APEC Member Economies are now working towards agreeing to a multilateral framework that will enable the system to be adopted around the region.

Mr. McMahon said one of the important issues surrounding the use of the RMAL is that it protects the private information contained in national passport offices but will detect fraudulent use of passports.

"The system does not involve establishing shared databases or large information directories in other economies as only when a stolen or lost passport is used will the RMAL system raise an alert."

Following the workshop and with the ongoing success of the RMAL trial in three Member Economies, APEC Senior Officials will consider the adoption of the multilateral framework when they meet in Hoi An, Viet Nam, in September.



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A preliminary review of a major exercise designed to test communication in the event of a human influenza pandemic within the APEC region has recommended strengthening networks that can be activated in times of an emergency.

The review - conducted by Australian officials in the wake of the 2006 APEC Pandemic Response Exercise - will be discussed by more than 50 health and Government officials at a 'Lessons Learnt' workshop in Singapore on 14-15 August.

The workshop is being sponsored by the governments of Australia and Singapore.

Co-ordinator of the Exercise, Dr Helena Studdert, of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the review had been conducted after intensive de-briefing of emergency officials involved in the exercise held on 7-8 June.

"The exercise involved health and emergency officials in 21 APEC economies responding to a hypothetical outbreak of a new strain of influenza called the 'Malacca Straits Flu'. In the scenario, it was feared the 'flu was a human form of Avian influenza," she said.

"It was suspected in some fishermen, whose boat subsequently capsized and who were rescued by a passing passenger cruise ship. This led to a hypothetical 'outbreak' of pandemic proportions within the APEC region.

"The scenario successfully achieved the goal of testing communication responses during the exercise, which lasted 26 hours across eight time zones and involving some 500 'message inputs' from around 100 officials. We were very pleased with the success of the exercise," Dr Studdert said.

Senior officials from the relevant agencies made critical decisions based on 'real' developments, communicating through the National Emergency Management Coordination Centre of Emergency Management Australia (EMA) in Canberra.

"After the exercise, we conducted a series of debriefs and evaluations with the results being compiled in a draft report," Dr Studdert said.

"These will be shared with officials from participating economies and a final report will be submitted to leaders at the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi in November"

The draft report recommends that APEC economies establish detailed communication arrangements in their domestic emergency preparedness planning. It recommends a region-wide communications network which could be activated in the event of an emergency or pandemic.

"The exercise achieved its purpose of highlighting the need for improved communications to handle these sorts of emergencies. The next step is for the Singapore workshop to discuss the report, decide how to move forward, and make a series of recommendations to ministers.

"The aim of this exercise, which is part of APEC's Taskforce on Emergency Preparedness, is to strengthen communications to be able to respond to these sorts of threats to human security in the region in a more effective and efficient way in the future," she said.

The 2006 APEC Pandemic Response Workshop will be held at the Grand Waterfront Hotel in Singapore on 14-15 August. 



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A one and a half day workshop in Singapore, co-sponsored by Singapore and Australia, concluded on 15 August 2006 with participants from APEC economies welcoming the chance to share information and experience on the dangers posed by avian influenza. International organisations such as the UN and WHO as well as observer participants from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar also attended the workshop.

The workshop was held as a debriefing session on the APEC pandemic simulation exercise which was staged in June to strengthen communication in the event of a human influenza pandemic within the APEC region.

Participants in the workshop agreed that the exercise was a significant event in APEC's contribution in the fight against avian influenza and a clear sign that APEC economies are taking concrete steps towards prevention and preparedness. The workshop also evaluated a survey of health and emergency officials involved in the exercise.

In his key note address, Colin Heseltine, Deputy Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, noted that "APEC is involved in dealing with the potential of an avian influenza pandemic because it poses a threat to the very goals and objectives that APEC strives to attain."

"Importantly, for future co-operation and community building among APEC economies, this pandemic response exercise clearly has greater implications than the initial task at hand to prepare APEC Member Economies for an avian influenza pandemic," he said.

A report on the exercise is now being prepared and will be submitted to APEC Ministers at their annual meeting to be held in Hanoi, Viet Nam in November.



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Senior Business Leaders from around the Asia-Pacific have called the suspension of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade talks as being of "deep concern for businesses and consumers in the Asia-Pacific and around the world." 

The 2006 Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Hoang Van Dung, from Viet Nam voiced the sentiments shared by ABAC Members.

"The failure of the Doha negotiations will hurt economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and dampen the potential for continuing rapid economic growth and prosperity," Mr. Dung said.

"I have written today to APEC Leaders urging them to resume negotiations to complete the Doha Round and to find common ground on outstanding issues.

"It is critical that negotiators are directed to get the DDA restarted as soon as possible."

As part of its efforts to restart the stalled negotiations, ABAC is arranging for representatives to visit Geneva in September to join with European business organisations in pressing for a meaningful outcome from DDA negotiations.

The ABAC Meeting in Cebu marked the tenth anniversary of the business forum and included the participation of the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and several leading business, academic and government figures from around the region.

"We have had the benefit of input by several speakers such as Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati and Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, amongst others," Mr. Dung said.

"This 10th anniversary meeting of ABAC placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of resolving to deliver the greatest benefits to the widest cross section of their communities".

ABAC is part of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) which comprises 21 of the world's largest economies including the United States, Japan and China, and accounts for around 56 per cent of world GDP and nearly half of world trade.

The next ABAC Meeting will take place on November 14-16 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, just prior to the APEC Leaders Meeting when ABAC will present Leaders with its annual report and recommendation.

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Finance Ministers from APEC Member Economies are meeting this week to address current issues on the regional economic agenda and to discuss long-term regional policy direction.

Hosted by Viet Nam, the 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will take place in Ha Noi on September 7-8.

The meeting is an annual opportunity for Finance Ministers and Treasurers from several of the world's leading and smaller economies to address issues of concern to financial stability in the region.

The APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting is one of the most important meetings of senior ministers on the global political calendar.

Mr. Vu Van Ninh, Finance Minister of Viet Nam, said in addition to dealing with a number of current issues, two key policy themes have been highlighted for the attention of ministers.

The first theme, 'Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability' will address new internal and external factors affecting government revenue sources

"Globalization has induced changes that over time have transformed government revenue structures, tax bases and types of taxes in APEC Member Economies," Minister Vu said.

"Ministers will have an opportunity to share experiences in managing this change while sustaining economic and fiscal stability."

The other theme, 'Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows' will provide ministers with an opportunity to discuss a recurring theme in the APEC Finance Ministers Process.

"Policies and reforms to facilitate capital flows in APEC economies have been addressed and updated at successive APEC Finance Ministers' Meetings," Minister Vu said.

"Ministers will now take a fresh look at capital flows in the context of the current global economy, particularly during the current period of change.

"The growth of institutional investors such as pension funds, mutual funds and hedge funds has had a substantial impact on capital markets and influences efforts aimed at financial market liberalization. To this end, financial institutions reform, regulatory transparency and prudential regulations are some areas that are likely to feature in discussions."

The APEC Finance Ministers Meeting will be preceded with a meeting of APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies' on September 5-6.

APEC Finance Ministers have met annually since 1994.



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Economies around the Asia-Pacific will benefit from an APEC Savings Policy Workshop taking place today in Viet Nam. Participants will examine how well-designed savings policy can exploit the linkages between savings and capital markets. This will in turn encourage strong and stable financial systems which will benefit all economies in the region.

The workshop is helping government officials develop best practice principles for savings policy by sharing experiences of previous reform efforts and by adopting international best practices.

The workshop is one of a series of events being held in the lead-up to the 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Ha Noi, on September 7-8.

Dr. Brian McCulloch, the Chair of the workshop, said the event, which is co-hosted by New Zealand, Chile and Viet Nam, will assist people with investments as their economies undergo capital market reforms.

"This workshop will help governments to enhance linkages between savings and capital markets, particularly as economies adjust to future challenges such as demographic change or population ageing," Dr. McCulloch said.

"Improving the linkages between savings and capital markets ensures that savings resources are better utilized and in the end will increase returns to investors.

"Ultimately robust savings policies protect the living standards of ageing populations, stimulate economic growth and boost financial market development and stability."

The workshop will include presentations and discussion from leading policy experts including:

Dr. Brian McCulloch, Director in the New Zealand Treasury Strategy Unit

Dr Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, Chief of Economic Research, Central Bank of Chile

Dr Alberto Roque Musalem, formerly of the World Bank Financial Sector Development Department

Mr Takayuki Urade, of the Nomura Institute of Capital Markets Research in Tokyo

This is the first workshop in a multi-year program aimed at improving the capacity of Member Economies to improve savings and capital market development.

The APEC Finance Ministers Process brings together government officials, business and private sector financial experts to strengthen the economic infrastructure of the APEC Region. This process culminates each year with the annual meeting of Finance and Central Bank Deputies, followed by a meeting of Finance Ministers. This year Finance and Central Bank Deputies will meet in Ha Noi on September 5-6, and Finance Ministers will meet on September 7-8.



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APEC Finance Ministers began a two-day meeting today during which they are discussing a number of issues that will have an impact on the future direction of the regional economy.

The 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting will be opened by the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung, today and conclude with a news conference on Friday.

The formal policy themes of the meeting are "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources" and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows."

Under the latter theme the issues of savings rates, exchange rate flexibility and demand growth around the APEC region are likely to feature in discussions by ministers.

These and other issues will then be considered for inclusion in the Joint Ministerial Statement that will be delivered on Friday afternoon.

Ministers will also consider advances in APEC's work on dealing with the financial challenges posed by an aging population.

The meeting will be chaired by Viet Nam's Finance Minister, Mr Vu Van Ninh.

APEC Finance Ministers have met each year since 1994 to consider issues of significance to the regional global economy.

The APEC Secretariat will post the Joint Ministerial Statement and a range of media materials including news releases and webcasts, where these are appropriate, on the APEC website.



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High level representatives from around the APEC Region are meeting in Viet Nam today to identify and evaluate policy concerns related to implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Viet Nam meeting is seen as a last opportunity for APEC Member Economies to discuss these issues before the third Meeting of the Parties to the protocol in Brazil in March.

Nearly one-half of APEC economies are Protocol Parties, and all APEC economies are active participants in the movement of agricultural products throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Officials from APEC's 21 member economies are meeting in Ha Noi until 27 February for the Fifth High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology and a separate Private Sector Day. Over 100 delegates and expert speakers from APEC economies and relevant international organizations are expected to attend.

The Policy Dialogue was opened by Viet Nam's Minister for Agriculture, Mr Cao Duc Phat, and United States Under Secretary for Agriculture, Dr. J.B. Penn.

The Philippines Secretary for Science and Technology, Dr Estrella Alabastro, also presented a paper on the Philippine experience in developing and Implementing National Biosafety Policies.

In his address to the meeting, Dr. Penn said "this year's Policy Dialogue meeting provides an ideal opportunity to identify and evaluate policy and trade concerns that merit consideration as APEC economies decide whether and how to implement the Protocol.

"Given the timing of the next Meeting of the Parties, the Policy Dialogue is an occasion for a useful exchange of viewpoints and experiences on the important issue of Protocol implementation."

This year's Policy Dialogue is also closely examining the issue of biotechnology policy development, implementation and communication.

"The Policy Dialogue provides a unique opportunity for APEC economies to share their experiences regarding how to create an effective policy and regulatory environment for the responsible use of biotechnology in agriculture," said Under Secretary Penn.

The Fifth Policy Dialogue will continue its tradition of supporting public policy development activities, including the creation of an "Investment Toolbox" that will assist interested APEC economies in creating a positive investment environment for agricultural biotechnology. In addition, the Policy Dialogue will undertake a review of its 2004-2006 Work Plan and begin the task of identifying priorities for its 2007-2009 Work Plan.

In conjunction with the Policy Dialogue, private sector representatives are also presenting a report on the HLPDAB's activities which focused on the nutritional and socioeconomic benefits of agricultural biotechnology. Since the first HLPDAB three years ago, the Private Sector Day has allowed high level officials from APEC economies to learn about new developments in agricultural biotechnology and the impacts that biotechnology is having in agriculture, food security and economic development.

Since its first meeting in Mexico City in 2002, the APEC Policy Dialogue has become the premier meeting in the Asia-Pacific region for high level agricultural biotechnology policy makers. The Policy Dialogue's work is regularly acknowledged in APEC Leaders' and Ministers' statements.

Through the Policy Dialogue, APEC seeks to build the capacity of economies to maximize the benefits of this promising technology. This high level dialogue provides a forum for policy makers to exchange and discuss multidisciplinary policy views, trade implications, implementation experiences, effective communication strategies and the benefits of agricultural biotechnology, including increased productivity, improved rural development and reduced environmental impacts.



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Ha Noi, Viet Nam, February 24, 2006 -- The Fourth Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) Conference began today in Ha Noi with Viet Nam's Trade Minister calling for increased cooperation across the APEC region between business and the government sector on security issues.

The annual two-day event will provide an opportunity for business representatives to contribute to recommendations on strengthening counter-terrorism preparedness that will be presented to APEC Leaders in November.

In his opening address to the conference, Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said citizens of the region have a responsibility to cooperate so as to build and strengthen a secure and favorable environment that ensures human security as well as trade and investment facilitation.

"There are differences in understanding and enforcement of security measures among different member economies, organizations and authorities that have created difficulties for the business community and others," Minister Truong told the meeting.

"Security measures within the region are also often implemented inconsistently."

Minister Truong said delegates at the STAR Conference have the opportunity to help overcome these problems by contributing to the development of coordination mechanisms for trade-related security measures.

"STAR 4 emphasizes the participation of the private sector and the collection of ideas from various sources, particularly form those that are directly affected by trade-related security measures.

"APEC has long been an active hub, attracting huge amounts of trade and investment flows with intense competitiveness and it is our duty to maintain this advantage.

Senior business executives and government representatives from around the APEC Region will make presentations and engage in two round table discussions during the meeting covering various perspectives of enhancing public and private sector partnerships.

At the conclusion of the meeting summary reports from the Aviation Security Round Table and the Maritime Security Round Table will be made available. These can be downloaded from the APEC Secretariat Website.

A webcast from the opening of the STAR Conference is available for download:

Webcast:

Welcoming Remarks 
by H.E. 1st Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam 
2006 APEC SOM Chair 2006, Mr. LE Cong Phung

http://www.apec.org/Press/Videos/20f.aspx

Keynote Address 
by Ambassador Benjamin Defensor Jr
Chairman, APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force (CTTF)

Opening Speech 
by H.E. Mr Truong Dinh Tuyen, Minister of Trade

[https://www]



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