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Senior Business executives from each of APEC's 21 Member Economies will meet in Malaysia next week to finalize details of their annual recommendations to APEC Leaders.

The Third APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting for 2005 will take place in Kuala Lumpur on August 1-4 and will also cover issues including business input to unblock the currently stalled WTO negotiations and ABAC's response to the APEC Leaders' Santiago Initiative for Expanded Trade in the APEC Region.

Comprising business executives appointed by the Leaders of each APEC Member Economy, ABAC has become an important regional forum for communicating business needs to political leaders.

ABAC Chair, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun, from Korea said that the recommendations that will be presented to APEC Leaders will be finalized at the meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"The suggestions from the business community to Leaders will cover a range of issues that are essential for promoting a healthy business environment in the Asia-Pacific," Mr. Hyun said before the start of the ABAC Meeting.

"These recommendations are made following extensive consultation with the business communities in every Member Economy and ultimately we hope they will be well received by Leaders."

Mr. Hyun said ABAC anticipates making a substantial contribution to meeting challenges currently facing the regional economy.

"This year ABAC has already sent a delegation to Geneva as part of our contribution to advancing current World Trade Organization negotiations," Mr. Hyun said.

"The ABAC delegation went to Geneva to deliver a very specific message that an open and predictable trading environment is a must in order for business to flourish, making the successful conclusion of the Doha Round vitally important.

"ABAC has called on WTO members to move forward on agricultural issues, seek the elimination of barriers to trade in non-agricultural products and to submit quality offers in the area of trade in services."

A Public-Private Dialogue on 'Cross-Border Implementation of Basel II and Emerging Regulatory Banking Supervisory Issues', organized in association with SEACEN, PECC and the Asian Bankers Association, will cover important banking sector regulatory topics of major interest to banks in Malaysia and the region. This event will take place on 4th August in Kuala Lumpur.

The meeting will be formally opened by the Hon Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry, on Monday.



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Senior Asia-Pacific business representatives today urged APEC Economic Leaders to act decisively to achieve a breakthrough in stalled WTO negotiations to avoid a world trade debacle in Hong Kong later this year.

Business executives of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), selected by Leaders of APEC Member Economies to provide advice directly to heads of government, asked Leaders to make a bold, concerted and timely move to ensure a successful outcome at December's 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting.

Chair of the ABAC, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun, from Korea, said Asia-Pacific businesses were deeply concerned about the potential failure of the Doha Development Agenda WTO talks.

"The risk of failure in Hong Kong is high, and we want APEC Economic Leaders to show global leadership in order to achieve a real, tangible outcome from these talks and provide the economies of the world, rich and poor alike with the substantial benefits that this would bring," Mr. Hyun said at the conclusion of the ABAC Meeting.

ABAC recently demonstrated its unwavering commitment to the world trade cause by sending a delegation to Geneva to ask negotiators and world leaders to move beyond traditional differences and come to the table willing to make compromises for the good of the world economy.

Mr. Hyun said ABAC members are taking practical steps to enable a successful Doha round, including linking with sister business organizations in Europe and other parts of the world to generate a common global business position on the issue.

"Business representatives in ABAC will work with colleagues in Europe and the developing world to provide governments with the backing they need to complete negotiations. We will also make direct and specific offers to our governments to provide assistance to overcome blockages. We hope this will set an example for businesses around the globe, to encourage and support their governments on this issue."

WTO issues will be foremost in discussions between ABAC and APEC Economic Leaders in Busan, Korea this November, when ABAC holds its annual face-to-face meeting with APEC leaders.



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Business leaders from APEC's 21 Member Economies have finalized the 2005 'Report and Recommendations to Leaders.' This is a set of recommendations intended to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation efforts in the region and help drive the global economy forward over the coming year.

Members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) provide advice directly to heads of Asia-Pacific governments through an annual face-to-face meeting and delivery of a comprehensive report of recommendations.

ABAC Chair, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun, from Korea, said the council strongly believes that there is no issue of more urgent attention for the APEC region than the successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda. ABAC outlined its position on potential outcomes in WTO negotiations in a separate news release (available at www.apec.org). 
Mr. Hyun said that the ABAC report to Leaders covered the increasingly important trade facilitation area (designed to encourage business activity) as well as advice on the increasing number of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in the region.

"ABAC suggests that APEC seek to further develop a common best practice approach to their bilateral PTAs, including preferential rules of origin." Mr. Hyun said at the conclusion of the ABAC Meeting.

"We restate our 2004 call to Leaders to launch the Trans-Pacific Business Agenda as a more structured and concerted approach to trade and investment facilitation in the region. We also call on the establishment of a high level task force to examine the feasibility of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific."

Mr. Hyun said ABAC has identified three critical issues in the area of finance which will be brought to the attention of APEC Economic Leaders.

"Of utmost importance to the region is the need for a robust outcome to the liberalization of financial services in the WTO Doha round to stimulate foreign direct investment flows. We urge Leaders to consider the financial implications and challenges of ageing societies, and ask them to consider how to finance the massive infrastructure needs of the region." Mr. Hyun said.

"Governments must give priority to strengthening and deepening the region's financial systems that support economic growth and development. Our recommendation is to implement best supervisory standards, liberalize investment regimes, develop the region's bond markets and implement capacity building programs.

"To that end, ABAC financial experts have developed a financial services liberalization best practices checklist for use in assessing offers made in WTO financial services negotiations. ABAC has also developed a checklist of impediments to foreign direct investment, which, if removed, would offer the most benefit to both host economies and investors."

Mr. Hyun said that ABAC members have also outlined steps to strengthen the capacity of the region's small businesses to compete in the global economy.

"ABAC plans to work with executive volunteer organizations in various APEC economies to coordinate the supply and demand of executive volunteers to assist SMEs in developing economies." Mr. Hyun said.

"At the meeting in Kuala Lumpur ABAC suggested that online e-Sourcing platforms can enhance the competitiveness of SMEs and widen their sourcing opportunities. ABAC continues to emphasize the importance of specific support mechanisms for SMEs in the services sector, including targeted training programs and awareness building in trade promotion agencies.

"Given that SMEs were hardest hit in last year's tsunami disaster, ABAC's call for the establishment of an APEC Regional Response Network includes the development of an SME preparedness checklist. ABAC will be sharing these proposals with APEC SME Ministers later this month in Korea."

Mr. Hyun also expressed concern over energy issues, which he said are immediate, grave and pervasive.

"There is an urgent need for action by APEC economies, individually and collectively, to address three prime areas of concern. These are the need to increase energy supplies, find better ways to conserve and diversify energy sources, and to encourage responsible energy uses. ABAC believes it would be appropriate in 2005 for APEC Leaders to commit to take firm measures in this crucial area." Mr. Hyun said.

"ABAC also wishes to highlight the innovative medical science and IT-supported work underway among businesses and research groups in APEC economies. These cover areas such as environmental monitoring, border control and biosecurity, food traceability and healthcare. ABAC urges relevant authorities to be aware of this work and explore capacity building measures to maximize the potential benefits.

"In the area of Intellectual Property Rights, ABAC recommends to Leaders to take the concrete step of launching an initiative on Patent Cooperation and Harmonization and to approve the set of Model Principles to control Online Piracy.

"ABAC will address issues in its 2006 work program on the commercial impacts, personal privacy and legal frameworks surrounding the global information society. ABAC will focus on means to ensure the new generation of communications services and capabilities can be delivered in ways that are compatible across APEC economies."

These issues will be included in the annual ABAC Report to APEC Economic Leaders, and together with discussion of WTO progress, will be foremost in discussions in face-to-face meetings between ABAC and APEC Economic Leaders in Busan, Korea. The meeting in Busan is scheduled for November 18 during the first day of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.



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Ageing economies and capital mobility are core policy themes for the 12th APEC Finance Ministers Meeting to be held in Jeju, Korea, on September 8-9.

In keeping with the tradition of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process, the meeting has adopted key themes that reflect significant finance related challenges faced by the regional economy.

Under the theme of "Meet the Challenge of Ageing Economies" ministers are anticipated to cover issues relating to savings and investment and the effect of these savings on the function of financial markets. Ministers are also likely to examine a range of issues relating to asset management industries in the regional economy.

The other theme of the meeting, developing policy recommendations for the "Free and Stable Movement of Capital," will likely assess issues including the current economic climate and impediments hindering capital movements.

APEC Finance Ministers meet once each year to exchange views and share information on regional financial developments. At the conclusion of each meeting, Finance Ministers present a joint statement that includes a series of policy recommendations to be implemented by Member Economies.

At each of these annual meetings, that have been held each year since 1994, Finance Ministers also endorse a series of cooperative programs that promote financial sector development and liberalization. When completed outcomes from these programs are then presented to Ministers.

This year Ministers will take stock of the outcomes from recent projects that include the APEC Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank Initiative and the APEC Remittance Initiative.

Included in these, the ongoing APEC Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank Initiative has been designed to facilitate improved problem-solving skills among people who display potential for future leadership roles in the financial sector. The project nurtures skills by encouraging participants to develop creative solutions to economic and financial challenges. The 2005 workshop was held in Australia on 22-24 June.

The APEC Remittance initiative sought to identify economic and structural factors contributing to the efficiency of informal channels for remittances. The initiative made progress in identifying key areas for public and private sector cooperation to encourage the wider use of the formal financial system. This ultimately aims to increase transparency and overcome money laundering activities and terrorist financing. The initiative involved ongoing research as well as a series of consultative seminars for government and business representatives working in the financial sector.

Additional details are available at: www.apecfmm2005.org



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Policies intended to increase consumer benefits, environmental protection and supply security of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are expected to be among the outcomes of the APEC Gas (APGAS) Forum in September.

An initiative developed by the APEC Energy Working Group (EWG)and leading private sector firms, the APGAS Forum will be held in Perth, Australia, on 1-2 September 2005.

Lead Shepherd of the Energy Working Group, Science & Resources, Mr. John Ryan, said the forum will provide an opportunity for government and business to exchange a range of views on enhancing the market potential of LNG and other gas trade in the Asia-Pacific.

"Regional trade in gas and in particular, LNG, has increased substantially in recent years and for good reason," Mr. Ryan said.

"With increased demand on energy markets and higher prices for traditional energy sources, LNG offers supply solutions that bring with them a more environmentally friendly approach to meeting energy consumption needs.

"To expand this market potential, governments and the private sector have to communicate to identify priorities and meet the challenges that we face."

Co-chairman of the APGAS Organizing Committee, Mr. Bret Mattes, from BHP Billiton Petroleum, said he expects public-private sector consultation at the forum will make a major contribution to strengthening the energy sector.

"The forum will provide an opportunity for a meeting of minds on the trading of gas and LNG, the role of gas in regional energy security, and the policies needed to allow growth in the regional gas market," Mr. Mattes said.

Mr. Ryan said one of the critical topics for the forum will be the consideration of security-related issues.

"Trade in all energy sources is currently the subject of considerable review to ensure the protection of supplies from compromise by terrorists and other criminals," Mr. Ryan said.

"The APGAS Forum will be considering a range of energy supply issues and will develop a series of recommendations to bolster security where this is needed."

Outcomes of the forum will be presented to APEC Energy Ministers when they meet in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, on 19-21 October 2005. At what will be their Seventh Meeting, APEC Energy Ministers are expected to make a series of policy recommendations for implementation in APEC Member Economies.



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Issued by APEC Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group

The APEC Agricultural Technical Working Group's (ATCWG)Biosecurity Planning and Surveillance Capacity Building Workshops were opened by the Honourable Tan Sri Dato' Hj. Muhyiddin bin Mohd. Yasin, Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur today.

The workshops involving plant health and agricultural scientists will build regional expertise to combat cross-border noxious pests that threaten the livelihoods of rural communities around the APEC Region.

Dato' Hjh. Khamsiah Hj. Muhammad, Director-General, Department of Agriculture Malaysia "urged serious commitment and cooperation from delegates in enhancing and strengthening their Biosecurity Planning & Surveillance capacity and capabilities to face the tremendous challenges in this era of globalization and trade liberalization."

The Honourable Minister, in his opening address, stressed that "in order to address threats posed by alien invasive species, it is imperative that plant health authorities have a sound knowledge of the health status of agricultural industries within their economy."

"Biosecurity planning is, therefore, a strategic exercise focusing attention on the opportunities for industry to take pre-emptive action, including through research and development, against exotic pests that pose the greatest threat to productivity.

"Biosecurity planning is also a key component that underpins any economy's readiness to trade and access markets in that it strengthens the economy's credentials in expounding that its production areas and ecosystems are free from undesirable invasives." 
Dato' Hjh. Khamsiah Hj. Muhammad also added that he looks forward to the development of a National Biosecurity Plan for Malaysia following the Workshop.

A new publication, "Guidelines for Plant Pest Surveillance in Asia and the Pacific" will also be used for the first time at the Workshop. Dr. Graeme Evans, a research scientist from Australia who will speak at the workshop, said the publication by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), is intended to assist scientists needing to undertake plant health surveillance activities.

"This publication is particularly important for economies intending to import and export agricultural commodities under the rules of the WTO," Dr. Evans said.

"This information is being shared so that, as a region, we can make progress in overcoming the potential damage caused by the spread of noxious pests across borders."

The ATCWG Biosecurity Planning and Surveillance Capacity Building Workshop that began this morning will run until August 20. It is being attended by registered delegates from APEC Member Economies, the Deputy Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat and a series of invited speakers from intergovernmental agencies.

At the conclusion of the Workshop, delegates are expected to implement the new measures and expand skill levels in their home economies.



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The opinions of young people from around the Asia-Pacific will be heard by APEC Leaders following the 2005 APEC Youth Plaza that began in Seoul today.

Working to the theme of 'APEC Youths in the Cyber World' the forum involves more than 150 young people between the ages of 18 and 30 with an interest in international relations.

Over the following six days youth delegates will cover a range of issues in the areas of 'Roles and Ethics of Youth in the Cyber World' and 'Challenges and Visions of e-World for the Youth.'

During the course of the forum representatives will participate in discussions and formulate common positions on four APEC priority questions:

Free Trade: Regionalism & Globalization; how can these two go side by side?

Fighting Corruption: What is the youth role to eliminate corruption?

Information Technology: What can the APEC Youth do to overcome the IT gap between APEC Member Economies?

Intercultural Cooperation: The role of APEC to promote cultural exchange among member economies.

These discussion forums will be held according to the standard APEC format followed by Leaders, Ministers and Senior Officials.

The festival is expected to broaden understanding on the impact of the new cyber-age on the younger generation.

At the conclusion of the forum on August 24, delegates will produce an 'APEC Youth Declaration' outlining their position on various issues that will then be presented to APEC Leaders when they meet in Busan, Korea, in November.

The 2005 APEC Youth Plaza is an initiative of the Korean Government as hosts of the 2005 APEC process.

Additional details are available at www.youtizen.org


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Electrical goods exporters and government regulators are expected to benefit from a new APEC website that collates technical standards for electrical appliances used around the world.

A Global Standards and Labeling Database has been launched by APEC and the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program (CLASP), an international non-profit organization working on energy standards and labeling.

The new, internet-based database should prove a useful resource for suppliers, experts, and regulators in APEC economies, since it will allow them to search data on standards and programs in more than 50 countries internationally.

The database was made possible through a unique sponsorship agreement between the APEC Energy Working Group and CLASP after each had maintained independent information for several years.

Under the new agreement CLASP worked with APEC to develop an enhanced and unified international database that allows users to search data on energy standards and labeling programs in more than 50 economies worldwide.

The APEC ESIS web site team, which gathers and updates data from APEC economies and coordinates an APEC-wide Standards Notification Procedure, is funded by voluntary contributions from Chinese Taipei, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America.

In this novel partnership APEC is contributing to international efforts to coordinate action on energy efficiency standards and regulations. As international trade in energy-using products increases, it is seen as important in the APEC process to work to align test procedures and performance standards. This approach is anticipated to lay the foundation for greater energy efficiency and enhance trade of energy-efficient products. This unique new information system developed between APEC and CLASP will strengthen this effort.

The global database can be accessed online from either the APEC-ESIS web site (www.apec-esis.org) or the CLASP web site (www.clasponline.org).



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An APEC symposium next week will seek to enhance understanding of the underlying causes that lead people into socially and economically vulnerable situations.

The 'APEC Symposium on Strengthening Social Safety Nets under Rapid Socio-Economic Changes' was be held in Seoul, Korea, on August 23-24 as a forum for APEC Member Economies to share globalization experiences.

Director of the APEC Social Safety Net Capacity Building NetworkHead Institution, Dr. Seokpyo Hong, said global economic change can be unsettling if measures are not taken to ensure people have the individual capacity to be competitive in the modern economy.

"Globalization brings with it new opportunities but we need to make sure that the new economy is open to all people," Dr. Hong said at the meeting.

"Increasingly open global trading relationships and changes in the workplace environment means that demand for some skills have changed.

"Our regional community has a responsibility to ensure adequate social safety nets are in place to manage change, protect the vulnerable and help people to develop their work skills.

"This symposium has sought to share experience and best practices from APEC economies in response to rapid socio-economic changes.

"Ultimately the symposium will provide government and NGO representatives with an increased range of options for improving social safety nets in APEC Member Economies."

The symposium focused on the following areas:

The causes and conditions of social vulnerability

Problems and issues in developing social safety nets

Best practices on social safety net building

Long-term strategies on strengthening social safety nets in APEC

Delegates to the symposium included representatives from APEC Member Economies and international forums including the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Program and international financial institutions as well as specialists from academic institutions.

The symposium was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and the APEC Social Safety Net Capacity Building Network.



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The significant role of women in the operation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been highlighted in the first of several forums to be held prior to the 12th APEC SME Ministers' Meetings.

Korea?s Minister responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Sung-Jin Kim, noted the importance of policy measures designed to help women to achieve gender equality. In his speech to the opening session of the 10th APEC Women Leaders' Network on Wednesday, Mr. Kim called on women to strengthen their economic position.

"Women play an important role in stabilizing the economy and people's daily livelihoods," Mr. Kim told the audience of delegates from APEC Member Economies.

"I want you to help revitalize the economy through sound consumption and share the difficulties of our neighbors."

The theme for the WLN Meeting is 'Prosperity of Women Enterprises through Innovation; New Visions for Women Entrepreneurs.'

While the meeting marks the start of the series of meetings leading to the SME Ministers' Meeting on September 1-2, it also follows from another important APEC forum promoting the role of women in business that was held in Seoul earlier in the week.

The APEC Forum on Digital Economy for Women was held on August 23-24 to improve Internet-based commercial opportunities for women entrepreneurs in APEC region.

The forum is designed to raise awareness of challenges faced by start-up businesses, micro-enterprises and SMEs and contribute to regional government policy development. Ultimately the APEC Forum on Digital Economy for Women seeks to promote strategic guidelines and tactics to enhance women's participation in the digital economy.

The forum considered a range of recent research projects that looked at the role of women in the emerging knowledge economy. The forum has developed a series of best-practice recommendations on participation in the digital economy that will be presented to the WLN Forum before being made available via the APEC Website.

There are several APEC meetings scheduled for Daegu in preparation for the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting:


Date  

SME Ministerial Meeting Related Event  

24 - 27 August  

APEC 10th Women Leaders' Network Meeting  

26 -27 August  

3rd APEC Incubation Forum  

27 August  

APEC Informatization Forum for SME  

27 August  

APEC Seminar on Micro-credit  

28-31 August  

APEC International Network of Institute for Small Business Counselors (APEC IBIZ) Program meeting  

28-31 August  

APEC SME Business Forum  

29-30 August  

21st Meeting of SMEWG  

29 August-01 September  

Inno-Tech Show  

01-02 September  

12th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting  



Additional details are available at: www.2005apecsme.org



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APEC Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministers will agree on an innovation action plan to enable SMEs to adapt to changes in the global economy when they meet in Daegu, Korea, this week.

The 'Daegu Initiative on SME Innovation Action Plan' will provide guidance for the development of government policy in APEC Member Economies to overcome obstacles faced by small and medium enterprises.

Korea's Minister responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Sung-Jin Kim, said innovation is the driver of economic growth in the modern economy and there is no reason why SMEs should not be a part of this growth.

"Small business is a master of innovation, but to be truly successful governments have to facilitate the right environment where SMEs can truly prosper," Mr. Kim said.

"SMEs are the largest employers in our region. With the right support SMEs can capitalise on international opportunities to make an even greater contribution to regional economic stability.

"The Daegu Initiative on SME Innovation Action Plan will clarify actions that are needed from governments to ensure SMEs are able to capitalize on change."

Mr. Kim said the Daegu Initiative builds on the achievements of previous SME Ministerial Meetings by seeking to establish a formal set of standards for promoting SME innovation.

"The Daegu Initiative will lead to a series of action benchmarks for APEC Member Economies to achieve.

"As the host of the 2005 APEC SME Ministerial Meeting, Korea has made the achievement of concrete deliverables for SME innovation a priority for this meeting."

In the lead-up to the SME Ministerial Meeting a number of supporting events are taking place that will draw ministers' attention issues including the development and the growth of micro enterprises. There will also be a number of forums for SMEs from around the region to showcase achievements and share experiences relating to SME development in the Asia-Pacific.

Meeting of Micro Enterprises Sub Group, 28 August

APEC International Network of Institute for Small Business Counselors (APEC -- IBIZ) Program meeting, 28-31 August

APEC SME Business Forum, 28-31 August

21st Meeting of SME Working Group, 29-30 August

Inno-Tech Show, 29 August-01 September

12th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting, 01-02 September

Additional details are available at: www.2005apecsme.org



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Ministers Responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have begun their two day meeting in Daegu Korea.

The meeting began with a retreat for ministers in which the Chair of the meetings, Mr. Sung-jin KIM, from Korea outlined some of the objectives the meeting is seeking to achieve.

A video webcast opening address by Mr Kim is available for download.

[https://www]

Mr. Sung-jin KIM, 2005 SME Chair
(WMV, 56.6kbps, 392kb)

[https://www]

Mr. Sung-jin KIM, 2005 SME Chair
(WMV, 256kbps, 2.44MB)



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APEC Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministers have launched an action plan to enable Member Economies to review and improve their economic and policy environments for SMEs.

The 'Daegu Initiative on APEC Innovative Action Plan' was finalized during ministerial discussions that covered a range of areas including the role of women in small businesses and the importance of micro enterprises.

Held on September 1-2 in Daegu, Korea, the theme of the 12th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting was 'Promoting Innovation of SMEs.'

The action plan provides a guideline for Member Economies to take stock of modern challenges faced by SMEs and then implement policies to deal with these issues.

SME Ministerial Meeting Chair, Mr. Sung-jin KIM, said that as globalization brings about change, governments have a responsibility to help SMEs to take advantage of altered economic conditions.

"In the global age and with the march towards globalization, Member Economies must seek ways to help the smaller businesses to innovate and take advantage of new opportunities," Mr Kim said.

"Globalization means that a small business located on one side of the world can be adversely influenced by factors on the other side of the world. Business and government need to innovate so as to create a situation favorable to these smaller businesses dealing with the consequences of globalization."

The Daegu Initiative on APEC Innovative Action Plan emphasizes seven areas of SME related activity:

Developing human resources and technology through industry, educational and research institutions

Facilitating access to expert assistance and consulting services

Enhancing availability of capital to innovative SMEs

Networking and clustering for innovative SMEs

Establishing appropriate legal and regulatory structures

Establishing a market consistent economic environment

Developing methodologies for effectively measuring processes in the implementation of innovation programs for SMEs.

Mr Kim described SMEs as "the growth engine of our region" that he said accounts for over 93% of industrial output and employs more than 87% of the region's workforce.

Further details of other issues discussed at the SME ministerial meeting can be found in the Joint Ministerial Statement and the Chair's Summary at the concluding Press Conference.

The next APEC SME Ministerial Conference will be hosted by Viet Nam in 2006.



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APEC Ministers responsible for SMEs, from all 21 member economies, the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, observers from the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, the Pacific Island Forum, APEC Business Advisory Council, the Women Leader's Network and Business Forum attended the twelfth APEC SME Ministerial Meeting held on 1-2 September 2005 in Daegu, Republic of Korea.

Ministers held discussions focused on this year's theme, 'Promoting Innovation of SMEs', which falls in line with the overall APEC 2005 theme of 'Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge, Make the Change'. Ministers agreed that it is important for APEC's SME-related activities to contribute to the ongoing process of building one united economic community of the Asian Pacific region. As part of this effort, Ministers set about exploring ways to facilitate development of thriving micro, small and medium enterprises within the APEC region.

Prior to the plenary session, Ministers attended a retreat to discuss informally, views on innovation. Discussion topics included the ?Daegu Initiative Action Plan? and current cross-cutting policy issues affecting SMEs within the APEC region. Herein, Ministers agreed that innovation is an essential element in creating dynamic SMEs and sustaining their growth. Innovation gives SMEs the edge they need to compete in the competitive global market. Ministers and officials concurred that not only developed, but also developing economies had potential to advance innovation, due to their ability to respond quickly to changes in the economic environment. Ministers also expressed, that in order to achieve co-prosperity of the APEC region, they would need to develop appropriate economic and policy environments for the APEC SMEs to reach their fullest innovative potential.

The Daegu Initiative on SME Innovative Action Plan will act as a guideline to identify challenges faced by SMEs in member economies and allow them to share from their experiences and of their abilities to review and make improvements to the policy and economic environment in order for economies to individually and collectively foster regional innovation. The Initiative places particular emphasis on 7 areas: (1) developing human resources and technology through industry, educational and research institutions; (2) facilitating access to expert assistance and consulting services; (3) enhancing availability of capital to innovative SMEs; (4) networking and clustering for innovative SMEs (5) establishing appropriate legal and regulatory structures; (6) establishing a market consistent economic environment and (7) developing methodologies for effectively measuring processes in the implementation of innovation programs for SMEs. Ministers and officials plan to submit the ?Daegu Initiative on SME Innovation Action Plan? to the meeting of the APEC Economic Leaders and Ministers scheduled to be held in Busan, Korea, in November, as a concrete outcome of the 12th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting.

As another step in furthering the innovative agenda, Ministers accepted a Korean proposal to establish the APEC SME Innovation Center. The Center will link SMEs with supporting organizations of member economies and serve as a resource center for APEC economies to share policy experiences to effectively increase the innovative capacity SMEs in the APEC region.

Furthermore, during the meeting, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the development of regional micro and small enterprises and the work of the Micro Enterprise Sub Group, recognizing MEs as a unique and differentiated sector of the economy. We exchanged views on how to create a secure, formalized environment for MEs, noting the importance of addressing gender issues as related to MEs within the APEC region. At the meeting, the Micro Enterprises Sub Group (MESG) and Women Leaders Network (WLN) made recommendations to Ministers of steps they felt necessary to raise the status of women business owners and help progress the goals of APEC.

Due to the cross-cutting nature of the APEC SME process, many other groups across APEC handle issues of interest to SME working group. For that reason, APEC SME Ministers reaffirmed the importance of coordinating the efforts of the group with other APEC forums. In response, the APEC SME Working Group Chair worked to encourage cooperation with related forums. Forums contacted reacted positively, agreeing to designate a liaison officer to promote information sharing.

Ministers recognize that, since SMEs owner depend on there businesses for their livelihood and that of their families, it is import to help them protect those businesses by helping them prepare for disasters. Therefore, Ministers were pleased to receive a report by the USA on a checklist for disaster preparedness. The disaster preparedness checklist will be forwarded to the Leaders Meeting in Busan for their recognition.

Overall, the meeting was a great success, contributing to the achieving the objectives of APEC for equitable growth and shared prosperity of economies within the APEC region.

Thank You.



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Korea's Minister for Gender Equality and Family, Dr Hajin Chang, addressed the opening of the APEC Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN) Meeting taking place in Gyeongju, Korea.

A video webcast of her speech is available for download:

Dr Hajin Chang
Minister for Gender Equality and Family
(WMV, 56.5kbps, 1.4MB)

Dr Hajin Chang
Minister for Gender Equality and Family
(WMV, 256kbps, 7.35MB)


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Korea's Minister for Gender Equality and Family has drawn attention to barriers faced by women business owners and called for strengthening gender integration in APEC activities.

Dr Hajin Chang was speaking at the opening session of the APEC Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN) Meeting taking place in Gyeongju, Korea, this week.

Dr Chang praised the contribution that women make to regional development and said more could be done to overcome the unfair treatment that women in business often receive.

"Women-owned or operated micro, small and medium enterprises are leading contributors to economic growth in the Asia-Pacific," Dr Chang said to delegates from APEC Member Economies attending the meeting.

"Yet, due to socio-cultural perceptions, small women-owned businesses continue to face difficulties in over-coming obstacles. These include gender-specific constraints which prevent women from business development and maximizing their contribution to the development of APEC economies."

Dr Chang commended efforts to incorporate gender issues into the APEC agenda and called on delegates meeting in Korea this week to build on recent achievements as they plan for future APEC events.

"APEC Leaders and Ministers have recognized that women workers and women in business are often less able to take advantage of the economic opportunities.

"I encourage GFPN Members to take this opportunity to take stock of what has been accomplished over the last years to integrate gender in APEC processes and activities and to plan strategically for the future.

"The work of this meeting will form the basis for future successful meetings and set the agenda for the following host APEC Host Economies of Viet Nam and Australia."

Dr Chang also highlighted the importance of information communication technologies as a vehicle to empower women and increase female participation in economic activity in the Asia-Pacific. She cited the Korean example where the government has implemented a national strategy to bridge the gender digital divide and help women to meet their potential as a significant human resource supplier to the digital workforce.

The APEC Gender Focal Point Network serves as a coordinating mechanism for integrating gender considerations into APEC activities. The GFPN links APEC forums and Member Economies to share information to advance the economic interests of women in the APEC Region.

The full speech by Dr Chang is available at: http://www.apec.org/Press/Speeches/2005/0905_gfpn_minister.aspx

Additional details on the APEC GFPN are available at:

http://www.apec.org/Groups/SOM-Steering-Committee-on-Economic-and-Technical-Cooperation/Task-Groups/Gender-Focal-Point-Network.aspx 



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Issued by APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group

The full implementation of APEC's Privacy Framework for protecting personal information in cyberspace moved a step closer this week with an APEC Seminar focusing on the international aspects of the program.

The 'Second Seminar to Implement the International Component of the APEC Privacy Framework' was hosted by the Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG), on September 5-6 in Gyeongju, and was attended by more than 50 delegates from the private and public sectors.

ECSG Chair, Mr. Jesus Orta Martinez said the seminar identified ways that the framework presented opportunities to maximise the benefits for both commerce and privacy.

"The seminar looked at how effective APEC privacy measures can improve international data flows to benefit trade," Mr Orta said.

"New privacy measures not only protect personal information but they bring with them more efficient procedures that remove obstacles to trade.

"The APEC Privacy Framework plus good business practices can lead to a trustworthy environment for consumers and new business opportunities for traders."

The Seminar highlighted the importance of business remaining accountable for the personal information they hold, including when data is moved between economies. Future work will focus on mechanisms to put in place effective governance arrangements and on providing effective remedies. This work will also reach out to those economies that are developing privacy frameworks, to regulators and to international business to offer assistance based on the APEC Privacy Framework.

Agreed by Ministers in Santiago, Chile, in 2004, the APEC Privacy Framework is intended to enhance the benefits provided by modern information and communications technologies.

The Privacy Framework seeks to achieve two main goals:

To develop appropriate privacy protections for personal information; and

To prevent the creation of unnecessary barriers to information flows.

The seminar in Gyeongju followed a larger seminar on domestic issues relating to the implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework that was held in Hong Kong in June. Business and consumer representatives played an active part in both seminars.



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"Accidental exposure to radioactive sources causes death, injury, and severe economic consequences for the Asia Pacific region," warned Ray Turner, an expert on radioactive source safety in his briefing to the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) this week.

The briefing covered areas including the range of potential radioactive sources, such as radioisotopes Cesium-137 and Cobalt 60 that are found in medical, industrial and military equipment.

Mr Turner said that over 100,000 radioactive sources are in shipment everyday around the world and this was cause for vigilance by handlers.

"Increased trade in the Asia Pacific region also increases the potential for public health, economic and security consequences of improper handling and trade in these sources. These are sources that can also be used maliciously to create radioactive 'dirty' bombs."

Mr Turner said more than 84 reported accidental meltings of radioactive materials in steel mills have occurred worldwide to date. These include meltings in the United States, Russia, China and Thailand, with the average clean up costing US$12-14 million. Mr Turner said that hundreds more accidents have likely occurred.

In his briefing Mr Turner recommended that all relevant APEC Member Economies, that had not already done so, adopt the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources and the IAEA Guidance for the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources. Mr Turner also urged the need for better detection systems and adoption of a harmonized approach to dealing with detected radioactive sources found in recycled metals during international transport. This he said should be in a method that will not impede trade and commerce.

Mr Turner briefed the CTTF meeting that was being held as one of the SOM II related meetings currently underway in Korea. The CTTF is currently considering an initiative on improving the safe handling of and trade in radioactive sources. A copy of his presentation is available here.

Ray Turner is the Quality Manager of Rivers Metal Recycling, a wholly-owned venture of The David J. Joseph Company, the United States' largest scrap metal company. He has served as a sole-source contractor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Chairman to the United National Economic Commission for Europe's Committee of Experts on International Protocols for Radioactive Materials found in Recycled Scrap Metal Shipments. He has personally made over 4,800 detections of radioactive sources in his career.

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Leading engineers and government representatives from around the Pacific have concluded a meeting in New Zealand aimed at developing common fire safety standards that are compatible with the latest timber science.

Chief Executive of the New Zealand Forest Industries Council, Mr. Stephen Jacobi, said billions of dollars in trade and thousands of forestry and construction jobs were being lost due to out of date fire safety codes in the Asia-Pacific.

"New technologies and fire management techniques have expanded the areas in which timber can be safely used in construction, however fire regulations and building codes have not always kept pace with the changes," Mr. Jacobi said.

"This means that wood products that can be used safely in construction are being locked out of potential export markets.

"An APEC Business Advisory Council study in 2002 estimated that the opportunity costs from excessively prescriptive provisions on fire safety in building codes to suppliers and consumers of wood products in APEC Economies was about US$10.8 billion a year.

"Certainly raw timber is a combustible material and safety is essential, however the out of date codes a regulations are needlessly causing considerable harm to the region.

"Ultimately the out dated codes have become unreasonable technical barriers to trade.

"In Wellington this week we have sought to take the first steps to identify new standards for the safe use of timber in construction that could be adopted by economies around the region.

"We can break down technical barriers when industry experts and regulators work together to develop a common understanding of problems and then identify ways to implement potential solutions.

"The use of timber in construction offers the region substantial rewards in enhancing economic growth and generating employment from a renewable resource."

The Fire Safe Use of Timber in Construction Seminar was held at the Te Papa Museum in Wellington from May 24-26. Guest speakers at the seminar included:

Katrina Bach, Chief Executive, New Zealand Department of Building and Housing

Miss Qiu Peifang, Tianjin Fire Research Institute, China.

Professor Sang-Sik Jang, Dept. of Forest Products, Chungnam University, Korea

Professor Andy Buchanan, Dept of Civil Engineering, Canterbury University, New Zealand

Dr Mohamed Sultan, Institute of Research in Construction Canada

Mr Paul England, Warrington Fire Research, Australia Pty Ltd

Dr Marc Janssens, Dept. of Fire Technology, Southwest Research Institute, Texas.

Mr Brian Meacham, Principal of Arup

Mr Mamoru Kohno, Fire Standards Division, Japanese National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management

The Fire Safe Use of Timber in Construction Seminar was held with the support of the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC). The role of the SCSC includes initiatives to reduce the negative effects on trade and investment flows caused by differing standards and conformance arrangements in the region.



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Opening Remarks by Ambassador KIM Jong Hoon, 2005 APEC SOM Chair at the APEC Senior Officials Meeting II in Jeju, Korea is now available.

Ambassador KIM Jong Hoon, 2005 APEC SOM Chair (WMV - 56.6kbps, 771 KB)

Ambassador KIM Jong Hoon, 2005 APEC SOM Chair (WMV - 256kbps, 5MB)

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Peru's Minister of Transportations and Communications, José Ortiz Rivera, expects the upcoming APEC Telecommunications Minister's Meeting to make major steps forward in bridging the digital divide in the Asia-Pacific.

The 6th APEC Ministerial Meeting on the Telecommunications and Information Industry will take place in Lima, Peru, on June 1 to June 3.
The theme, as identified by the Host Economy Peru, is "Enabling Digital Opportunities: Harnessing Infrastructures to Advance the Information Society."

Mr. Ortiz said the meeting will conclude with ministers delivering a joint declaration and a separate action plan for improving infrastructure and access to modern telecommunications in the region.

"Access to modern technologies must be universal," Mr Ortiz said.

"No longer should participation in the digital economy be restricted to cities, but people in the far away towns and villages should also be able to share in the benefits.

"Communications technology has reduced distance between the people of the world. What is needed now is for our region to ensure the distance that still remains can be crossed.

"At the Sixth Telecommunications Ministerial meeting I hope we are able to set a clearer path to enable universal access to the digital economy."

Mr Ortiz said this is significant to showcase telecommunications advances in Latin America, in what the Peruvian Government has declared as the 'Year of the Infrastructure for the Integration.'

"I look forward to promoting the advances in the telecommunications sector that are underway in Peru and around Latin America," Mr Ortiz said.

"From our perspective, the Peruvian Government has been proactive in strengthening telecommunications infrastructure to further enhance the economic growth that Peru is experiencing.

"By inviting ministers and their delegations from around the APEC Region to Lima we will also have an opportunity to showcase the vibrant culture and history of Peru."

The ministerial meeting will begin with an industry dialogue on the role of both the public and private sectors in expanding telecommunications infrastructure to create a more inclusive information society.

Then in formal discussions ministers will share experiences from their economies and propose future regional action on a range of issues.

These include strengthening human capacity and skill levels, developing effective communications policy, advancing communications infrastructure, improving security and looking at ways to establish methods for alleviating disasters and enhancing relief operations.

The previous APEC Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications and Information Industry was held in 2002 in Shanghai, China.


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Developing Member Economies will receive increased assistance for activities in APEC's high priority economic and technical cooperation sectors through the new APEC Support Fund (ASF).

The ASF was formally approved during this week's APEC Senior Officials Meeting in Jeju, Korea, with Australia generously committing A$3 million over three years to the establishment of the fund.

Kim Jong Hoon, Chair of the 2005 APEC Senior Officials Meetings (SOM), said the ASF will provide a unique opportunity for an increased number of government and non-government sources to become involved in the important work of APEC.

"The ASF will enable more people to take part in APEC capacity building initiatives that empower their communities to meet the challenges of the modern global economy," Mr. Kim said.

"Designed as a flexible funding mechanism, the ASF will enable a range of contributions and uses to be provided around the region.

"The ASF has the flexibility to provide contributions for specific activities such as counter-terrorism capacity building or to help women develop small businesses in developing areas.

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APEC Senior Officials have approved the report of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) and its recommendations on Cartagena Protocol Implementation and Technology Transfer.

Presented to the Second 2005 Meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Jeju, Korea, today the report recommends that Member Economies take economic considerations into account when implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The report also highlights the importance of intra-governmental coordination during Protocol implementation negotiations and discussions.

On the issue of technology transfer, the HLPDAB report recommends increased government and private sector cooperation and highlights the role of intellectual property rights in effective technology transfer.
At its recent meeting the HLPDAB endorsed a number of public policy development activities in the APEC region. These include:

Additional farmer-to-farmer activities to increase awareness of the latest developments in agricultural biotechnology

Continued work on activities to help economies create a positive investment environment for agricultural biotechnology

The presentation of a Biosafety workshop to provide policy options for officials as they develop effective biosafety frameworks

The APEC HLPDAB is set to become a regular fixture on the APEC calendar with the next meeting due to be held in Viet Nam in early 2006 followed by Australia in 2007.


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Direct involvement between the transportation sector and government has been described as a great APEC strength for ensuring safety and economic success according to the United States' Transportation Secretary, Norman Y. Mineta.

Mr Mineta made the remarks during his address to the APEC Transportation Working Group (TPTWG) meeting that was held last week in Washington D.C.

A former United States' member of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Mr Mineta cited a range of achievements achieved through public and private sector cooperation. These include the successful implementation of the Shanghai Model Port Project.

"What has been achieved thanks to this APEC initiative is nothing short of remarkable," Mr Mineta said on his inspection of the Shanghai Port in 2004.

"Customs clearance processing that once took three to four days is now completed in three to four hours. It was a project that has delivered real results, with real benefits and has reduced the costs of doing business without compromising security."

Mr Mineta said multilateral interaction that brings together business and Member Economies to nurture human capital and improve security is an area in which APEC has made great strides. However he said the region can do even better.

"Today I am here to issue a call to action to the members of APEC to embrace multilateralism and to urge our economies to come together for the good of the region," Mr Mineta said.

Citing the experience of the aviation sector in replacing restrictive bilateral agreements with more liberal open skies agreements, Mr Mineta pointed out the new approach as an example of multilateralism that had given airlines the incentive to become more efficient.

"For APEC economies, it is incumbent upon us to intensify our cooperation within the transportation sector to keep pace with, and to support, our economies? progress toward implementing the broader Bogor goals."

Mr Mineta also drew attention to the importance of multilateral interaction not only making transportation systems more economically efficient, but also making them safer, more accessible and more secure.

"It is clear today that secure transportation and economic prosperity are inseparable, and that security must remain high on the transportation agenda for the foreseeable future.

"Having been part of its creation, I am pleased with the success of the Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) Initiative.

"Under this initiative, APEC has accomplished much in the way of improving the secure flow of goods and people.

"Whether through the use of common customs information to better identify high-risk shipments, ship and port safety plans, reinforced cockpit doors, or advanced passenger information systems, the STAR Initiative has helped ensure that our citizens and our economies are safer."

The APEC Transportation Working Group was held in Washington D.C. USA, from May 31 to June 3


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Establishing the multilateral legal framework to enable APEC Member Economies to access each other's data on lost and stolen passport information will be the subject of a workshop in New Zealand, in August.

The workshop is a necessary practical step in the development of multilateral data access arrangements and wider adoption of the Regional Movement Alert List (RMAL) system by APEC economies. The RMAL is a unique system, being developed by Australia and the United States on behalf of the APEC Business Mobility Group, is intended to prevent terrorist and criminal use of lost and stolen passports. The system enables officials at all border checkpoints to identify, in real time, passports that have been reported lost or stolen.

The proposal for the workshop to develop a multilateral APEC framework was endorsed by the APEC Informal Experts' Group on Business Mobility (IEGBM) at its meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Jeju, Korea.

The IEGBM meeting was chaired by Mr Peter Job, from Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA). Mr Job said after the meeting that Member Economies recognize the serious problem of lost or stolen passports being used illegally outside of the issuing territory and beyond the reach of authorities with access to live data.

"You cannot use a lost or stolen passport at border checkpoints in the economy that issued the passport as this would be detected," Mr Job said.

"However, there are inadequate real-time tools to help immigration officials catch people trying to use lost or stolen passports issued by other economies.

"Intentionally trying to pass a lost or stolen passport off as your own is illegal, but it is also a possible indicator of other illegal activities taking place. The RMAL will significantly improve regional capacity to identify and stop both the illegal use of these travel documents and other associated undesirable activities."

Mr Job said an important aspect of developing the RMAL was clarifying precisely what information would be made available, how it could be used, and ensuring that this system is consistent with various domestic regulations including on privacy.

"The only information that will be available on the RMAL will be basic details of passports that have been lost or stolen," Mr Job said.

"When a passport is used at a border post, RMAL enables a check of that passport against a lost and stolen data list. Then if the response from RMAL indicates that the passport is lost or stolen the authorities can take necessary action to deal with the situation."

APEC Leaders gave their support for the RMAL pilot when they met in Santiago last November. A pilot trial of the new system will take place between Australia and the United States in the second half of 2005.

By taking a multilateral approach Member Economies can take advantage of a single collective framework, rather than having to negotiate hundreds of bilateral arrangements to reach the same goal.

The IEGBM, which has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the RMAL system, works to enhance the mobility of business people by facilitating travel through a range of initiatives such as the APEC Business Travel Card scheme.


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APEC Trade Ministers have agreed on a formula for the calculations of future tariffs that they hope will lead to the unblocking of stalled WTO trade negotiations.

While there are still technical details to work out, Member Economies were in agreement that the 'Swiss formula' should be used to calculate tariff reductions in non-agricultural products.

The details still to be worked out relate to the calculation of a coefficient in the mathematical formula used to calculate future tariff cuts. Ministers have directed their representatives in Geneva to continue to work out the calculation of the coefficient.

Attended by Trade Ministers and their representatives from APEC's 21 Member Economies, together with WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, the 11th Meeting of APEC Ministers' Responsible for Trade was held in Jeju, Korea, on June 2-3.

The breakthrough in discussions is particularly positive for all members of the WTO as they prepare for the much anticipated WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong in December.

Having reached a collective position, APEC Member Economies that account for around half of the world?s trade and represent a range of developed and developing economies, will be able to present a common position to WTO members. By reaching consensus APEC Member Economies will present a unified position that it is hoped will add positive weight to negotiations to achieve consensus from all members of the WTO.

Ministers set to their agenda on WTO DDA recognizing the urgency of the need to gain a consensus and provide a breakthrough for the current WTO round while recognizing the ambition of what they were seeking to accomplish.

One of the central priorities throughout was to achieve a balanced outcome that progressed both agriculture and non-agricultural issues in WTO negotiations.

At the conclusion of discussions in Jeju, Korea, Ministers issued a specific statement on WTO DDA Negotiations that addressed these core issues. (Available at www.apec.org)

The statement outlines five key areas in which Ministers called for no effort to be spared to produce meaningful "first approximations" by July in order to lay a solid basis for a successful outcome of the Hong Kong Ministerial. These areas cover trade in agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA), services, trade facilitation and the development dimension in all negotiating areas.

In their statement on WTO DDA Negotiations Ministers welcomed the planned visit of representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council to Geneva that is intended to provide business input to DDA negotiations.

Other areas covered in the statement included a further commitment of support for the APEC Best Practices for Regional Trade Agreements and Free Trade Agreements as well as APEC's ongoing work on trade facilitation.

Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to the liberalization of Information Technology products that includes three specific products; multi-chip integrated circuits, digital multifunctional machines and modems.

The full statement as well as the Statement of the Chair is available from the APEC Website: www.apec.org



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APEC Trade Ministers have pledged to lend joint support to ensuring a successful conclusion to the planned WTO Ministerial Conference in December.

At the conclusion of their annual meeting, this year held on Jeju Island in the South of Korea, Ministers endorsed a statement by the Chair highlighting a series of joint commitments. These include planned actions in relation to the WTO Doha Development Agenda together with a range of other issues including capacity building and ongoing trade facilitation measures.

The Chair's Statement, a separate Ministers' Statement on Doha Development Negotiations and a video webcast of the Press Conference following the MRT Meeting are available on the APEC Website.

Statement of the Chair

Ministers' Statement on Doha Development Negotiations

Press Conference Video Webcast:

[https://www]

Summary by Mr. Kim Hyun Chong, Korea's Minister for Trade and APEC 2005 MRT Chair.
Dialup
Broadband

[https://www]

Media question response by Mr. Kim Hyun Chong, Korea's Minister for Trade and APEC 2005 MRT Chair.
Dialup
Broadband



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Issued by the APEC Meeting of APEC Ministers' Responsible for Trade

APEC Trade Ministers have agreed to develop possible model measures on trade facilitation for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Regional Trading Agreements (RTAs) for endorsement by APEC Leaders in November.

These trade facilitation measures areas, such as transparency, consistency, release of goods, modernization and paperless trading, risk management, express shipments, fees and charges will particularly benefit business.

"When finalized, these APEC Best Practices for Trade Facilitation in FTAs/RTAs will be particularly beneficial to developing economies as a readily available resource to aid their FTA and RTA negotiations.

APEC Ministers also agreed to forward the APEC Best Practices to Geneva Caucus to support the efforts of the World Trade Organisation to clarify and improve the disciplines and procedures applied to FTAs/RTAs. The Ministers have also agreed to ensure that their notifications of FTAs/RTAs to the WTO are up to date. This openness enhances transparency and clarity as Member Economies seek to improve the process of negotiating FTAs and RTAs."

APEC Ministers' Responsible for Trade are encouraging the adoption of these Best Practices beyond the APEC region following the successful approval of the Best Practices on FTAs and RTAs last year. The Best Practices were proposed at the APEC Trade Ministers' meeting in Chile in June 2004 before being endorsed by APEC Ministers in November.

Chile's Senior Official and Chief Trade Negotiator, Mr. Mario Matus, welcomed the move, noting that these Best Practices apply to FTAs and RTAs currently being negotiated by more than half of APEC Member Economies.

"The past year has shown that by applying APEC Best Practices to the FTA negotiations underway around the region, we have made the process more transparent and less complicated," Mr. Matus said.

"The commonalities that are becoming apparent now between different FTAs and RTAs negotiated between quite different economies around the region is reassuring.

"These best practices are also very useful in ensuring that negotiated outcomes serve APEC goals and are consistent with WTO rules."

The Ministers' endorsement to share the best practices came after the meeting of the 3rd Trade Policy Dialogue on FTAs/RTAs held earlier in the week. The symposium addressed several issues relating to FTAs/RTAs in the APEC region including the handling of Trade Facilitation.

The 3rd Trade Policy Dialogue on FTAs/RTAs also considered widening the scope of the Best Practices to include new issues such as competition policy, investment, government procurement, research and development.



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APEC Trade Ministers have endorsed a series of Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy measures including guidelines for authorities to seize and destroy pirated goods and support to increase the capacity of economies to deal with counterfeiting.

The APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative is part of efforts intended to strengthen intellectual property protection and overcome damage caused to regional innovation and commercial competitiveness, especially for small businesses.

Korea's Trade Minister, Mr Hyun Chong Kim, noted the importance of the new measures in his statement at the conclusion of the Trade Ministers' Meeting.

"We reaffirmed the important contribution of effective intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement in promoting investment, spurring innovation and driving economic growth, and reiterated the need to build on APEC work already underway in this area," Mr Kim confirmed in the Chair's statement.

"We agreed on the urgent need to take concrete steps to reduce piracy, trade in counterfeit goods and online piracy, as well as to increase cooperation and capacity building.

"We endorsed the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative and instructed officials to intensify their work in the coming months on the proposals set forth in the initiative and to deliver concrete results by the November APEC Ministerial Meeting."

The APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative includes a range of measures that will be implemented in APEC Member Economies. The package includes four areas in which specific actions are outlined:

Reduce Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods - Economies aim to reduce counterfeit and pirated goods trade and combat transnational networks that produce and distribute these items. Actions include establishing guidelines for authorities to inspect, suspend, seize and destroy goods and equipment used in counterfeit and pirated goods trade.

Reduce Online Piracy - Appropriate legal regimes and enforcement systems will be enacted to curtail online piracy and to undermine the online trade in counterfeit goods. This includes the development of guidelines to prevent Internet sales of counterfeit goods.

Increase Cooperation to Stop Piracy and Counterfeiting - Operational contact and the sharing of information between customs and law enforcement agencies will be increased to combat counterfeiting and piracy networks.

Increase Capacity Building to Strengthen Anti-Counterfeit and Piracy Enforcement - Member Economies' ability to develop and manage effective anti-counterfeiting and piracy enforcement systems will be increased through education and training throughout the region.

As part of the package APEC Senior Officials will seek input from the private sector and other stakeholders including the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).



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APEC Telecommunications Ministers concluded their sixth meeting by delivering a joint statement covering a broad range of areas that are crucial for the ongoing economic development and security of the APEC Region.

Meeting in Lima, Peru, on June 1 to 3, Telecommunications Ministers highlighted the importance of expanding access to the Internet for all people in the Asia-Pacific as part of capacity building measures required for the region. Ministers also drew attention to making better use of the evolving next generation of information technology and increasing broadband access. These and a range of other issues have now been referred to the APEC Telecommunications Working Group (APEC TEL) for further action and implementation.

In their joint statement, the Lima Declaration, Ministers noted the challenge faced by some developing countries as a result of limited internal telecommunications infrastructure.

Having been proactive for several years in working to expand access to the Internet and other communications technologies, APEC Telecommunications Ministers commended the rapid growth in Internet access in the APEC region over the past five years.

Since 2000 access to the Internet in the APEC Region has more than doubled, and in applauding this achievement, Ministers called for continued efforts to realize the APEC goal of tripling Internet access by the end of 2005. This measurement will require strengthened statistical gathering capacity in order to undertake an assessment of progress in early 2006.

Ministers also confirmed the importance of life-long learning in enhancing human capacity development for all age groups and genders, as well as for people with disabilities or special needs. Ministers have instructed the APEC Telecommunications Working Group to explore different approaches to human resource development, such as a possible e-university to assist e-government and continue TEL e-Learning initiatives.

Ministers also lent their ongoing support to work on next-generation networks (NGNs) that impact on a number of areas including security, trade facilitation and capacity building.

Recognizing the challenges and opportunities posed by the rapid technological advancement and convergence of telecommunications services, Ministers instructed APEC TEL to explore innovative NGN approaches arising from new technologies and services.

APEC TEL will now undertake a review of the current APEC 'Principles of Interconnection' in light of issues raised by the transition to NGN, including the inter-operability of services and networks.

Ministers also called for the APEC TEL to assist with the expansion of broadband information infrastructure. This includes encouraging Member Economies to implement the APEC 'Key Principles for Broadband Development' as each economy gains capabilities and continue to work on policy issues related to broadband including broadband for small and medium enterprises, emergency response and disaster mitigation and service industries.

In regard to the importance of ensuring the security and integrity of the APEC region's communications infrastructure, Ministers instructed APEC TEL to continue its work on information security aimed at trusted, secure and sustainable online environment.

The full Lima Declaration and associated documents are available online:

- Lima Declaration

- Program of Action for the APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group

- Key Principles for Broadband Development in the APEC Region

- Compliance and Enforcement Principles

- Guiding Principles for PKI-based Approaches to Electronic Authentication

- Principles for Action Against Spam and the Implementation Guidelines for Action Against Spam

The outcomes of this meeting will now be presented to APEC Leaders when they meet in Busan, Korea, in November.



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APEC Trade Ministers have called for closer public and private sector coordination in overcoming corruption in the Asia-Pacific. At their annual meeting that concluded today in Jeju, Korea, Trade Ministers also reiterated the importance of all economies meeting the APEC Transparency Standards set by APEC Leaders.

Exploring opportunities for enhancing anti-corruption and transparency cooperation was an important topic of discussion at the Trade Ministers' meeting on June 2-3. Ministers are now anticipating a positive outcome to the 2005 APEC International Symposium on Anti-Corruption that is planned for Seoul in September.

The Symposium is expected to coordinate the exchange of experiences and ideas among representatives of member economies and international experts in the fight against corruption.

The Symposium will cover the range of subjects addressed in the APEC Course of Action on Fighting Corruption and Ensuring Transparency. These include the UN Convention Against Corruption, measures to deny safe haven to people guilty of public corruption and other efforts to fight corruption in both the public and private sector.

The Symposium is expected to place a particularly high focus on e-government as a tool to enhance transparency and address practical ways to provide international anti-corruption assistance. The International Symposium on Anti-Corruption will look at ways to strengthen the APEC Anti-corruption Initiative

The Symposium will take place in Seoul, Korea, on September 1- 2 and will be hosted by the Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (KICAC).

The Meeting of Ministers' Responsible for Trade was held in Jeju, Korea, on June 2-3 and covered a range of issues including the current state of WTO negotiations, intellectual property rights issues and counter terrorism.

Additional details on the APEC Anti-corruption and Transparency Symposium available at www. http://transparency.apec2005.org/



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Regional efforts to strengthen information privacy protection were enhanced last week with the first of two technical assistance seminars for the implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework.

Launched by APEC Ministers in Santiago last year, the framework identifies a consistent approach to information privacy protection between APEC member economies, while avoiding the creation of unnecessary barriers to information flows.

Organized by the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG), the seminar took place in Hong Kong, China, on June 1-2 and was cosponsored by Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data.

Mr. Tony Lam from Hong Kong's Acting Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said that "The Privacy Commissioner's Office was very pleased to host the 90 delegates from Member Economies and to facilitate dialogue during this important event".

As part of the process of implementing the APEC Privacy Framework Member Economies agreed to hold two technical assistance seminars during the course of 2005. The Chair of the APEC ECSG, Mr. Jesus Orta Martinez, said the event will be useful for all APEC Member Economies.

"These technical assistance seminars are part of the ECSG's commitment to assist member economies in the implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework," Mr Orta said.

"A core objective is to identify and address obstacles to further regional cooperation in the area of information privacy."

The Chairman of the APEC ECSG's Information Privacy Sub-Group, Mr. Peter Ferguson, said it was important that participants came from a broad cross section of the community.

"Given the scope of what member economies agreed to accomplish, it was important that the first technical assistance seminar include a diverse mix of stakeholders from a range of disciplines, and I believe that we accomplished that aim," Mr Ferguson said.

"Participants in the seminar included representatives from governments, the business community and civil society, including consumer advocates and members of academia."

The first technical assistance seminar focused on domestic implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework and addresses a number of key issues, including:

Maximizing the benefits of privacy protections and information flows

Giving effect to the APEC Privacy Framework

Educating and publicizing domestic privacy protections

Furthering cooperation between public and private sectors

Providing for appropriate remedies in situations where privacy protections are violated

Developing a mechanism for reporting domestic implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework

A second technical assistance seminar, which will focus on international implementation issues, is planned for either August or September 2005.



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A series of new capacity building initiatives to help farmers in developing areas to protect plants and livestock against major pests and diseases will be undertaken around the Asia-Pacific in the coming months. The new measures are also expected to reduce costs to business and open up new export opportunities for regional farmers.

The new initiatives were agreed by representatives of Member Economies at the Meeting of the APEC Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG) in Daejeon, Korea.

ATCWG Chair and Director of the Korea Rural Economic Institute, Dr. Se-Ik Oh, said the initiatives will help local farmers by addressing emerging major threats to Asia-Pacific agricultural production.

"Improving the capacity of farmers to control pests and diseases expands agricultural productivity and ultimately improves rural incomes. 
"These new measures will ensure governments are able to provide greater technical support needed by farmers at a local level."

Mr Gary Greene, Head of the United States Delegation, welcomed the new initiatives that he hopes will aid the expansion of all phases of agricultural development in APEC Member Economies.

"Agricultural trade within the APEC region accounts for an essential part of the health of the global economy," Mr. Greene said.

"I hope these new APEC initiatives will strengthen agriculture in the Asia-Pacific by increasing skills and opening new markets for farmers right around the region."

Initiatives that have been planned include:

A workshop on adopting international standards for plant and animal health to be held in the United States in October

An APEC Forum on Alien Invasive Species to be held in Beijing in September

A workshop on bio-security planning and surveillance for plant pests in Malaysia in August

Technical manuals on plant pests and diseases to assist identify and manage exotic pests

New funding to build SPS capacity in the region

The ATCWG Meeting in Daejeon also endorsed several steps to reduce business transaction costs. These include measures to improve market structures and expand the use of electronic health and quarantine certificates.

A further capacity building initiative to facilitate trade is assistance to enable economies to comply with the new international standard ISPM 15 on the fumigation of timber products. This Australian Accreditation Scheme for fumigators and inspectors allows for shipments containing timber products, whether these are the products being shipped or the wooden boxes that they are often carried in, to be given fast track quarantine clearance at destination ports if they meet the set fumigation standards.

Chile's representative at the meeting, Mr Jaime Alliende, expects the new ATCWG initiatives will also help economies to maximize benefits to the agricultural sector from Free Trade Agreements.

"It is very clear that FTAs are making a useful contribution to providing real market opportunities for our farmers," Mr Alliende said.

The ATCWG Meeting was held from June 14 to 17. The next ATCWG meeting will take place in June 2006 in Viet Nam. Additional details on the ATCWG are available at: www.atcwg2005.com



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Developing economies in the Asia-Pacific will be given additional help to deal with the challenges of negotiating Free Trade Agreements and Regional Trade Agreements (FTAs/RTAs) at an international APEC workshop in Hanoi this week.

Bringing together leading trade negotiation experts with representatives from developing economies, the 'APEC International Workshop on Identifying and Addressing Possible Impacts of FTAs/RTAs Development on Developing Member Economies' will take place on June 28-30.

Participants from APEC Member Economies and international organisations will share their experience using case studies and best practices for overcome the difficulties and challenges faced in developing and implementing FTAs/RTAs in and outside the APEC region.

Ms. TRAN Thi Thu Hang, Viet Nam Senior Official for APEC said the workshop will impart knowledge and skills that will help developing economies derive tangible benefits from the process of negotiating, signing and implementing FTAs/RTAs.

"Small economies need to take particular care over the right planning and approach to the negotiation of bilateral trade agreements in order to achieve a solid outcome for their economy," Ms. Tran said before the start of the workshop.

"Trading agreements signed between relatively small and large economies can be particularly beneficial to the smaller economy if they are done right. However, FTAs and RTAs also have the potential to cause difficulties if not negotiated properly by the smaller economy."

The Chair of the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment, Mr. Alan Bowman, welcomed the workshop that he said was very relevant to the needs of the participating economies.

"This workshop is a strong example of demand-driven capacity building as the project was initiated by a developing economy," Mr. Bowman said.

"The end result of the workshop is that it will make a useful contribution to APEC's Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation Agenda by raising skill levels in individual economies."
The program will cover a range of FTA/RTA topics including perspectives on these agreements in APEC and the WTO, capacity building programs for developing economies, the liberalization of investment and services, Rules of Origin under FTAs/RTAs and case studies based on the past experience of developing economies.

Ms. Tran said Viet Nam's pending accession to the WTO and its role as host of the APEC process in 2006 made it a smart choice for hosting an international workshop on negotiating FTAs/RTAs.

"In 2006 Viet Nam will also be the centre of APEC activities as it hosts Leaders', Ministers' and all Senior Officials' Meetings. The role of FTAs and RTAs will continue to be an important issue for APEC next year."

The Workshop will be opened by H.E. Deputy Minister of Trade, Chief Negotiator, National Negotiating Team of Viet Nam, Mr. LUONG Van Tu and the Program will feature contributions by expert speakers including:

Prof. Robert Scollay, Associate Professor, APEC Study Centre, University of Auckland

Dr. LE Quang Lan, Key Negotiator of Vietnam for FTA between ASEAN and China, Japan, India and Korea.

Ms. Kati SUOMINEN, Senior Consultant, Inter-American Development Bank.

Ms. Jane Drake-Brockman, Managing Director, Trade and Environment Solutions and Executive Director, Australian Services Roundtable.

Mr. Jeffrey Hardee, Vice President and Regional Director for Asia Pacific, Business Software Alliance.

The workshop builds on the decision by APEC Trade Ministers earlier this month to ensure that FTAs/RTAs deliver real market opportunities for business in the Asia-Pacific region.



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Businesspeople from a number of APEC Member Economies will be granted easier access to enter Viet Nam following the decision by Viet Nam to join the APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) program.

From next year, business travelers who hold an APEC Business Travel Card will be able to use express immigration lanes at airports and stay for at least 60 days in Viet Nam without having to apply for a visa.

The announcement was made today by the Government of Viet Nam following discussions with APEC Trade Ministers at their meeting in Jeju, Korea, in June.

The ABTC program has been in operation since 1997 and now includes 17 APEC Member Economies.

H.E. Mr. Nguyen Dy Nien, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, said "Joining the ABTC program will serve as a boost for regional business by making travel easier for Vietnamese and other APEC businesspeople."

"Viet Nam?s participation in the ABTC Program is a testimony of our commitment to creating favourable conditions for business in Viet Nam in the context of an early accession to the WTO. It is also a positive step forward as Viet Nam prepares to host APEC in 2006."

The APEC Region accounts for around half of the world?s trade and is the engine of global business growth. Therefore it makes a great deal of sense for business people to be able to move freely between participating economies with the use of the APEC Business Travel Card.

The 17 participating Members of the APEC Business Travel Card Program are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and Viet Nam.

APEC Business Travel Cards are issued by the governments of participating economies and the program is overseen by the APEC Informal Experts' Group on Business Mobility.

Businesspeople need only submit a single application in their home economy for the APEC Business Travel Card, that once granted, allows for multiple entries to all participating economies.

All holders of an ABTC are able to use express immigration counters at participating Member Economies and lengths of stay vary between 60 and 90 days depending on the individual economy.

Once issued the cards remain current for three years before they have to be renewed.

Additional details on the APEC Business Travel Card are available at: www.businessmobility.org



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Analyzing the obstacles faced by the smallest businesses in the Asia-Pacific in their efforts to participate in the formal sector was the theme of an APEC symposium held recently in Peru.

The forum sought to exchange information on regional experience in strengthening the operations of small and micro enterprises and to propose measures for facilitating access to formal business exchange and finance.

Co-sponsored by Peru, Viet Nam and Chinese Taipei, the 'Micro and Small Enterprise Financing: A Tool for Mainstreaming the Informal Sector' symposium brought together representatives of the government and private sectors including a number of small and micro enterprise operators.

The symposium covered a range of areas that included discussion on regulatory frameworks, the costs and benefits of involvement in the formal sector and the effective use of financial services.

Attended by more than 200 delegates, the symposium in Lima was presented with a range of information from around the region on both difficulties and success stories of small and micro enterprise activities.

Victor Tockman, Former Regional Director of International Labor Organization and now Advisor to Chile's President, noted in his address to the symposium that the value of informal enterprises was often not fully appreciated and a new approach was required.

Mr Tockman highlighted the role of small and micro enterprises in generating work that helps people to reduce its poverty in areas where other work is not possible.

"Micro enterprises offer solutions in countries were you can not survive in any other way than being entrepreneur," Mr Tokman said at the symposium. It is important that we establish mechanisms to eliminate high entry barriers and cut red tape for those wishing to join the formal sector."

The symposium was provided with summaries of varied experiences in APEC Member Economies.

In Mexico for example, were 26% of the working population is involve in informal activities, it is estimated that only one out of three enterprises pays taxes. The response from the Mexican Government has been a proactive approach that does not seek to recover back taxes, but endeavors to invest in the future.

Gustavo Melendez Arreola, the Director of the Mexican Centre for the Development of Financing Channels and Enterprise Growth, said the Mexican Government is seeking to strengthen small and micro enterprises so that they will be able to pay taxes in the future.

"It is more important to deal with the factors the cause the informal sector to be generated to begin with, these causes are a lack of work opportunity," Mr Melendez Arreola said.

The symposium heard that there have been improvements in the approach of some banks to extend credit to small and micro enterprises with case examples cited in Peru and Chinese Taipei.

Jose Zapata from the Bank and Insurance Administration of Peru said Peruvian banks are increasingly interested in smaller enterprises.

"The average cost of credit for a micro enterprise is higher than commercial credit due to what was seen as higher perceived risk, but lending rates have been decreasing over the past decade,? Mr Zapata said.

The symposium also heard of the successes of micro-credit in Chinese Taipei where the lending rate for these programs is around 3% per year. This lending assists unemployed people between the ages of 45 and 65 who are not receiving pensions so that they can operate a small business. Up to May this year, 52,000 applications had been approved for this program in Chinese Taipei.

The symposium also included a videoconference between delegates and Mr Sloan Coleman, a Regulatory Specialist from the United States' Office of Financial Assistance in Small Business Administration, accompanied by other panel experts in Washington, DC. The video conference was arranged through the cooperation of APEC and the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN).

A common sentiment that was expressed in a range of presentations at the seminar highlighted the importance of business formalization as being essential for expanding market access for small and micro enterprises.

Ultimately it was felt that developing public policies for business formalization is a challenge faced in a number of areas around the Asia-Pacific with the way to overcome these obstacles requiring strategies to increase competitiveness and productivity.

The findings of the symposium will be published in a report that will be released in the coming weeks.

The Micro and Small Enterprise Financing: A Tool for Mainstreaming the Informal Sector symposium was held in Lima on July 6 and 7.



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One of the major planning events in the lead-up to APEC Viet Nam 2006 began today in Ha Noi.

The 'International Symposium on the Preparation for APEC Viet Nam 2006' will identify opportunities for deepening cooperation between Member Economies and propose the theme and sub-themes for the upcoming APEC year.

The Symposium has been opened by H.E. Mr. Vu Khoan, Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam.

In his keynote speech, H.E. Mr. Khoan said that "Viet Nam will take over the responsibility of the host economy from Korea at the end of this year. We will, therefore, keep on striving to solve the challenges facing APEC and making better changes for our community".

H.E. Mr. Khoan also emphasized that since the introduction of the Renovation and Open-door Policy along with the integration policy over the past 10 years, Viet Nam has become the active member of international and regional cooperative institutes and currently in the final stage of WTO accession negotiation.

Hosting APEC in 2006 he said will help to encourage greater economic openness and interaction and enabled Viet Nam to engaged more broadly with the global economy.

In his Welcoming Remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of Viet Nam's Inter-Ministerial Task Force for the APEC Year 2006, Mr Vu Dzung, said the symposium will contribute to a heightened level of preparedness as 2006 approaches.

"Viet Nam will make every effort to make the 2006 year a success for each and every economy as well as for a shared future of an APEC region of prosperity, peace and stability," Mr Vu said.

"We will also try to further contribute to the development of APEC and keep APEC on the right track towards the anticipated prospect." Mr. Vu said.

From the early months of 2006 there will be a number of ministerial and official events that will conclude with the Leaders' Meeting in November 18-19. Each of these events will contribute to APEC's free trade and investment goals through increased cooperation across a number on sectors.

The symposium this week will also seek to establish a working relationship between the Member Economies that are hosting the APEC Process between 2005 and 2008. These economies are Korea (2005), Australia (2007) and Peru (2008).

The 'International Symposium on the Preparation for APEC Viet Nam 2006' is being held in Ha Noi from July 21 to 22.

Symposium participants will include the Chair of the 2005 APEC Senior Officials Meetings, Senior Officials from Member Economies, the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, the Chairs of APEC Committees and various working fora, the Chair of APEC's Budget and Management Committee, business delegates and a range of representatives from Member Economies and international forums.



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As part of action in response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami, APEC will establish a virtual task force to unify resources and skills in the APEC community to deal with future emergencies and natural disasters.

The decision to establish the Virtual Task Force for Emergency Preparedness was made at the First APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) for 2005 today in Seoul, Korea.

The Virtual Task Force will strengthen coordination efforts among APEC Member Economies and fora in relation to disaster relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in disaster stricken areas. Core aims of the task force are to strengthen preventive measures and enhance preparedness for natural disasters. The task force will also undertake capacity building initiatives to improve regional emergency and natural disaster management capability.

It is anticipated that once priorities have been identified the task force will seek to build capacity in order to deal with regional emergencies and disasters such a disease outbreaks, natural calamities and terrorist actions.

SOM Chair, Ambassador Jong-Hoon Kim, has been empowered by Senior Officials to act as coordinator of the APEC-wide emergency and natural disaster preparedness activities in the event of a sudden or unexpected crisis.

Ambassador Kim said the APEC approach will be to enhance regional emergency preparedness and disaster recovery measures by focusing on APEC's key strengths.

"APEC Member Economies and Fora have a range of skills and resources that can be combined and used to complement the actions taken by other bodies." Ambassador Kim said after the SOM Meeting.

"The Virtual Task Force for Emergency Preparedness will cooperate with other international forums, the private sector and NGOs in areas of natural disaster response and preparedness.

"The Virtual Task force will be jointly chaired by Indonesia and Australia and will have its first physical meeting in April or May in Indonesia.

"At this meeting in Indonesia the task force will collate reports from APEC fora to identify gaps in regional preparedness and immediate and long-term priorities."

Senior Officials have instructed APEC working groups and fora to intensify efforts in enhancing disaster management capacity building and educate the public on natural disaster prevention and salvation skills. Working groups and fora have also been asked to identify and to notify the Virtual Task Force of their current emergency and natural disaster management activities before the task force meets in April or May 2005.

An earlier Emergency Preparedness Virtual Task Force was established in 1997 and concluded when its set tasks had concluded. The new task force will help to better prepare the APEC region for future natural disasters. This will include rejuvenating the Emergency Preparedness Website hosted by Australia in order to facilitate information sharing and best practice exchange.



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Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Ban Ki-mun, has opened the plenary session of the First Senior Officials Meeting of 2005 today in Seoul.

A video webcast of Minister Ban's opening address is available via video webcast.

[https://www]

Mr. Ban Ki-mun, Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Dial-up

Broadband

The plenary session began by discussing outstanding business from the informal session that was held the day before, and then moved to the substantive issues that will be finalized throughout the year.

The plenary session will conclude this afternoon.



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Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can generate substantial rewards if they work together in industrial clusters according to the outcomes of an APEC Seminar in Taipei this week.

The "APEC Symposium on Industrial Clustering for SMEs" has released a set of guidelines for use by business operators, governments and trade organizations that are intended to stimulate increased interaction among local businesses.

The "APEC Best Practices Guidelines on Industrial Clustering for SMEs" highlights the potential for SMEs to make better use of their geographic location to expand trading opportunities for local businesses in their industry.

The guidelines outline operational areas such as the sharing of new technologies, human resource development and utilizing collective local strengths in order to develop overseas markets.

In his address to the symposium the Director General of the SME Administration in the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taipei, Sun-Quae Lai, praised Industrial Clustering as a central part of regional economic growth.

"Industrial clustering is considered the main drive for innovation and economic growth in the new economic era," Mr. Lai said touching on one of the symposium?s central themes.

"I believe that even micro-enterprises can be innovative as long as they can grow in a suitable environment."

Developing this environment involves sharing information and practices to develop collective local strength in a changing global economy. The guidelines note that "the ability to innovate under globalization is the key to the competitiveness of an economy."

A reliance on local human resources and skills is highlighted in the guidelines as important for SME development.

"Human resources are an indispensable ingredient in the formation of an industrial cluster," the guidelines state.

"Although part of human resources can be obtained from abroad, the availability of locally-sourced human resources is crucial to the operations of a cluster."

The guidelines also note that the development of clusters will be particularly beneficial if markets for local SME products can be identified in other regional areas.

"For most developing countries, the major growing markets are often in developed countries, and therefore the ability to export to these markets is critical to the success of an industrial cluster.

"Domestic firms have to be a part of the export drive, making their own linkage to the major markets."

The Symposium took place on March 8-9 in the Taipei International Convention Center.

The APEC Best Practices Guidelines on Industrial Clustering for SMEs is available from the APEC Website.



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The 4th Meeting of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) highlighted the need for economic considerations when implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. While the Protocol entered into force in September 2003, some aspects of the agreement's implementation have yet to be clarified.

Delegates to the meeting discussed the importance of intra-governmental coordination and the participation of trade representatives during the negotiations for the specific implementation modalities for the Protocol. Some delegates also urged APEC Member Economies to undertake research to analyze the costs and benefits as well as the trade implications of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Held on March 2-3 in Seoul, Korea, the HLPDAB was opened by Korea's Vice Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Lee Myung Soo.

The HLPDAB also discussed the need for increased government and private sector cooperation, and the role of intellectual property rights in effective technology transfer. The HLPDAB endorsed a number of public policy development activities in the APEC region. These included: additional farmer-to-farmer activities to increase awareness of the latest developments in agricultural biotechnology, continued work on activities to help economies create a positive investment environment for agricultural biotechnology, and the presentation of a Biosafety workshop to provide policy options for officials as they develop effective biosafety frameworks.

The Dialogue also provided for one day of the program being set aside for policy makers from APEC Member Economies and representatives of the businesses sector to meet and discuss current issues relating to agricultural biotechnology.

The theme for this year's Private Sector Day was "Consumer Acceptance of Agricultural Biotechnology".

The APEC HLPDAB is set to become a regular fixture on the APEC calendar with the next meeting due to be held in Viet Nam in early 2006 followed by Australia in 2007.



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Energy policy makers from APEC Member Economies are meeting in Hanoi this week to develop solutions to meet the region's growing energy needs.

The 29th Meeting of the APEC Energy Working Group (EWG) will cover areas including the implementation of the APEC Energy Security Initiative, ongoing research to develop alternative fuels and ways for the EWG to contribute to planning to deal with major regional emergencies or natural disasters similar to the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

The outcomes of this meeting from March 14 to 18 will contribute to the Senior Official Meetings leading up to the APEC Leaders' and Ministers' Meetings in November.

Ms Vicki Brown said on behalf of the EWG Lead Shepherd that the 29th meeting of the EWG will receive a report on the implementation of the APEC Energy Security Initiative.

"The full implementation of the APEC Energy Security Initiative is of vital importance for ensuring the energy needs of our region are not disrupted by human actions or natural disasters," Ms Brown said.

"The ongoing threat of terrorist activities, increasing demand for energy and the current high price of oil are all significant factors for regional economic development.

"The Energy Security Initiative comprises of both short and long term measures to respond energy supply disruptions and develop policy responses to address the broader challenges facing the region's energy supplies. The Energy Security Initiative requires economies to develop individual emergency preparedness plans, share information on their current reserves and keep other economies informed in the case of an emergency."

Ms Brown said the EWG is undertaking joint efforts with the Industrial Science and Technology Working Group (ISTWG) as part of efforts to assess the feasibility of alternative future fuel sources.

"The EWG meeting in Hanoi will receive submissions to better assess future alternative fuel technologies and the impact these would have on the energy market," Ms. Brown said.

"The EWG and ISTWG are looking at the feasibility of developing a technology road map that outlines multiple scenarios for plausible energy and fuel development in the APEC region. The EWG had earlier invited a representative from the ISTWG to the previous EWG meeting and sent an EWG representative to an ISTWG workshop."

The meeting will also consider ways for the EWG to contribute to APEC's overall emergency preparedness strategy that was endorsed by Senior Officials at their meeting in Seoul in early March. The APEC Virtual Task Force for Emergency Preparedness is being reactivated to unify resources and skills in the APEC community to deal with future disasters that have the potential to strike the region.

The EWG was established in 1990 to develop collaborative solutions to maximize the energy sector's contribution to regional economic and social wellbeing. This includes addressing the potential environmental effects of energy production together with the increasing requirements of energy consumers around the region. It is estimated that this demand for energy in the APEC region is expected to grow at an average 2.1% annually for the next 20 years. This growing demand is expected to increase energy import dependency in the APEC region to around 80% in 2020 from 60% today.



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The millions of dollars lost by the tropical fruit industry each year to infestations of fruit fly will be reduced with the establishment of a network of fruit fly experts in South-East Asia.

The final in a series of three workshops to train government agricultural officers and plant quarantine personnel has now been scheduled for March 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshops have been coordinated through the support of the APEC Agricultural Technology Cooperation Working Group operating under the auspices of the ASEAN Plant Health Cooperation Network.

At the first two workshops in Malaysia, participants were trained in methods of collecting, identifying and preserving fruit flies in their local areas and were then able to compare these with collected fruit fly specimens. The final workshop in Thailand will teach participants how to use the fruit fly information they have obtained to build national databases and share this at a regional level.

The fruit fly information network will share details on where certain species of fruit fly are active, pool information on measures that have been effective in controlling the spread of fruit fly species and help to determine where quarantine bans may or may not be effective.

Director of the Regional Office of the International Centre for the Management of Pest Fruit Flies in Malaysia, Ms Asna Booty, said the information sharing network will be a significant milestone for overcoming the damage caused by the fruit fly.

"The fruit fly workshops are developing a network of fruit fly experts around the region who are able to exchange vital information to deal with the fruit fly menace," Ms Booty said.

"It is our hope that as people in the region learn more about how to control fruit flies this issue will no longer be considered as too difficult for most entomologists to tackle.

"Many APEC Member Economies are capitalizing on the rising demand for tropical fruits and vegetables in export markets but this is being threatened by fruit fly attack.

"Unless a more coordinated approach is taken to control this pest several economies may be tempted to implement stringent quarantine bans. Closing borders to the movement of exotic fruits and vegetables would harm many thousands of small producers and traders so we must seek a solution through collective effort.

"To ensure any new controls on the spread of fruit fly do not undermine trade, workshop participants are also being trained to implement fruit fly control rules that conform to quarantine negotiations under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary provisions of the World Trade Agreement."

Conducted by the International Centre for Management of Pest Fruit Flies at Griffith University Australia, the series of workshops are being funded by AusAID. Participants from the APEC Member Economies of Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam together with non-APEC ASEAN Members are attending the workshops.



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Issued by the APEC Industrial Science & Technology Working Group

Life Sciences research in the Asia-Pacific has been given a boost with plans for APEC to establish an innovative molecular biology laboratory network to link together leading scientists, institutions, policy-makers and entrepreneurs. The APEC Electronic International Molecular Biology Laboratory (eIMBL) will enable participating laboratories to share research equipment, materials, know-how and research findings. Scientists will also be able to engage in real-time peer discussion and analysis of results among laboratories participating in the "Unit Lab".

The decision to establish the eIMBL was made at the recent meeting of the APEC Industrial Science & Technology Working Group (ISTWG) in Gwangju, Korea, on March 15 to 16.

Chair of the meeting, Dr. Paul Cheung, said the eIMBL will enable the APEC region to better prepare to deal with potential threats such as SARS or Avian Influenza as well as increasing the competitiveness of the regional biotechnology sector.

"Regional governments have expressed their desire to make the development of life sciences biotechnology a priority in the region," Cheung said.

"The increasing need for regional cooperation and information sharing to deal with trans-border biomedical and agricultural as well as environmental concerns has been evident in recent years.

"The APEC eIMBL will enable greater collaboration to be carried out in leading centers of scientific excellence and we will all enjoy the benefits of the resulting information sharing.

"The network will also provide an opportunity to deliver the highest quality training to future life scientists and biotechnologists."

The ISTWG Meeting was also briefed on progress to establish the APEC Climate Centre in Korea. The centre will share climate data and information on weather systems with the potential to cause damage and loss of life in the APEC Region. The centre will use a central computer with substantial processing power, 3776 GB of memory and 75 TB of storage capacity, to process information.

The eIMBL and the APEC Climate Centre will be officially launched at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting that will take place in Busan, Korea, in November.

Other issues covered at the 28th ISTWG Meeting included information on work being undertaken by the APEC Energy Working Group on hydrogen fuel cell technologies and preparations for the APEC Oceans-Related Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on September 16 to 17.

Delegates were also briefed on planning for the upcoming APEC-Youth Technology Innovation Collaboration Conference that will be held in Taipei, August, 19 to 22. The conference will bring together over 1000 students from around the Asia-Pacific for a range of events including a technology innovation competition and interactive sessions with leading innovators from the business sector.

The ISTWG's objective is to increase the capacity of the industrial science and technology sector in the APEC Region to improve quality of life while safeguarding the natural environment.



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Guidelines to make e-commerce transactions across borders more secure and simple have been released by the APEC eSecurity Task Group (eSTG).

The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) guidelines will be used for a range of transactions including the formalization of contracts, shipping documentation, customs and quarantine clearance and taxation and online consumer purchases.

Chair of the APEC eSTG, Mr. David Hickman, said the PKI Guidelines have been designed to ensure that they are compatible with industry standards already in use in Europe and can be adopted by developing economies.

"The eSTG undertook a comparison of existing schemes to identify a class of digital signature standard suitable for e-commerce around the region," Mr. Hickman said.

"We recognised that any approach developed for APEC must also be able to interact with other standards, particularly those being used in Europe. These guidelines will foster the interoperability of PKI schemes, which will assist developing economies who are improving their e-commerce capacity to interact at a global level.

"Past standards have provided guidance in developing secure electronic transaction facilities, however these have not always addressed legal issues relating to the cross jurisdiction recognition of certificates. As a result differences between standards have emerged that have the potential to impede transactions and undermine the regional potential of e-commerce."

Mr. Hickman highlighted the work of the team that developed the guidelines which he said would be valued around the region.

"The eSTG is most appreciative of the work of Mr. Steve Orlowski from Australia working with experts from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong China, Singapore, the United States and the European Union," Mr Hickman said.

"This has been a major exercise over an extended period that will make e-business more secure and easier for people right around APEC region.

The final report, "APEC Guidelines for Schemes to Issue Certificates Capable of Being Used in Cross Jurisdiction Ecommerce," is now available.

PKI is a secure method for exchanging information via the Internet and makes use of a system known as public key cryptography to ensure transactions are secure. PKI uses digital signature certificates that authenticate electronic activities carried out between individuals, governments and companies.

The guidelines are based on RFC 3647, which addresses policy and technical aspects of PKI that came into effect in November 2003. The RFC (Requests for Comments) document series is a set of technical and organizational notes about the Internet that began in 1969 to discuss many aspects of computer networking, including protocols, procedures and programs.

The APEC eSecurity Task Group is part of the APEC Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC TEL) .



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Ambassador Kim Jong Hoon from Korea readily admits that his economy is no stranger to meeting challenges and facing adversity head-on. As Chair of all APEC Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs) in 2005, Ambassador Kim will have to put this can-do attitude to the test as APEC faces one of its most grueling workloads in the forum's history.

The APEC process is now at the halfway point between when the first meeting was held in Canberra in 1989 and the date set for the achievement of APEC's core free trade and investment goals in 2020.

Speaking in preparation for the Second Senior Officials Meeting for 2005, the SOM Chair said he feels relaxed as he prepares for the months ahead but the gravity of the tasks ahead do not escape him.

"APEC has achieved a lot in building an economic community through its areas such as trade liberalization and facilitation as well as through economic and technical activities," Ambassador Kim said of the past 16 years of APEC's existence.

Ambassador Kim said in 2005 Korea will seek to ensure that progress achieved since 1989 not only continues but that Member Economies take an active step forward to adopt changes that are required to enable a true sense of community to grow.

Working to the theme of 'Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge, Make the Change' Ambassador Kim said achieving the core APEC free trade and investment goals requires a response covering a number of areas beyond straight economic issues.

"This year APEC is faced with a number of challenges including lending our support to advance the current round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations as well as undertaking a review of our own progress as a forum and setting direction for the next fifteen years.

"In addition to this Korea has introduced the agenda item of culture into APEC discussions this year and we are also dealing with other ongoing issues that are important for achieving APEC's goals such as counter terrorism and anti-corruption."

"However there can be no mistaking the importance of progressing the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in 2005," Ambassador Kim said.

In providing leadership to move the current round of WTO negotiations back on track, Ambassador Kim said that Korea, as APEC Host Economy, intended to play a very active role in advancing the Doha Development Agenda. This includes taking steps that move beyond traditional APEC approaches.

"Korea maintains the firm belief that the WTO is the best vehicle in securing and further promoting global free trade," he said.

"There are great expectations in the region for a successful outcome to the WTO Ministerial Meeting that is planned for Hong Kong in December and this adds greater importance to APEC 2005.

"As this year's APEC Chair, Korea is determined to play a very active role in helping to generate considerable progress on the Doha negotiations.

"In November, at the time of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Busan, we will consider inviting non-APEC member ministers and organize a mini ministerial meeting, with a specific focus on working to prepare for success in Hong Kong the following month."

Inviting ministers from non-APEC members of the WTO is a break with standard practice in the APEC process but is seen by Korea as a common sense approach to bringing together a wide range of stakeholders committed to advancing the DDA. Before this proposed ministerial meeting takes place, Korea is also proposing that APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade hold a separate DDA session at their annual scheduled meeting in Korea in June.

The APEC process has at its core a set of goals that were set in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994. These goals set the target of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific to be achieved no later than the year 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

Since the Bogor Goals were established the APEC process has broadened its agenda to include a range of issues that while not trade and investment related in form, have a significant impact on the region's potential to meet the Bogor Goals. Already covering a wide range of sectors and activities including transportation, chemical production, gender issues, terrorism and corruption, these sectoral issues are being expanded to include culture in 2005.

While the modalities of the cultural element of the APEC agenda are still to be defined, Ambassador Kim said efforts to increase cultural understanding have a direct link to deepening trade and investment links.

"Increasing cultural understanding between the various people of the region lowers psychological barriers against foreign products and companies," Ambassador Kim said.

"One of the sub-themes of APEC 2005 is to 'build bridges over differences.' Given the diversity of APEC economies and the geographically wide dispersion along the Pacific Rim, I believe that achieving an APEC community will require a long-term commitment to strengthening people-to-people contacts."

"The promotion of cultural exchange will help foster mutual understanding, enhance APEC's visibility, and instill a sense of community within the region. Dismantling the psychological barriers creates a business-friendly environment and shortens the distance between markets and people."

Two issues that have received an increasing level of attention from APEC Leaders and Ministers in recent years are counter terrorism and transparency. Both have the potential to seriously affect trade and economic growth if not effectively dealt with through coordinated action.

Ambassador Kim said the Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) will be continuing into its third year and one of the highlights of 2005 will be the launch of the new APEC Anti-Corruption Task Force.

"The role of the APEC Anti-Corruption Task Force is to coordinate the implementation of the APEC Course of Action on Fighting Corruption and Ensuring Transparency which was endorsed by Leaders last November.

"Given the cross-cutting nature of activities related to combating corruption and ensuring transparency, APEC is well positioned to deal with the anti-corruption issue."

"The Task Force is expected to assist member economies by recommending measures that effectively prevent and fight corruption, particularly in the areas of government procurement and taxation. The Task Force will also develop effective actions to fight both public and private sector corruption."

A change that is taking place in the APEC Counter Terrorism task Force is the appointment of Ambassador Benjamin Defensor from the Philippines as the new Chairperson in 2005. A career military officer, Ambassador Defensor is tasked with enhancing counter-terrorism and human security initiatives in the APEC Region.

"I expect CTTF will focus on taking practical action to implement the Leaders' and Ministers' Commitments, for enhancing cooperation and coordination among member economies," Ambassador Kim said.

"Enhanced capacity building efforts to implement counter-terrorism measures such as controls on cargo and people in transit will be an important factor in this program."

With only eight months remaining before the APEC Leaders' and Ministers' Meetings in Busan, Ambassador Kim said he hoped Korea would demonstrate strong leadership for the region and further strengthen the APEC process before host responsibilities changed to Viet Nam in 2006.

"In hosting APEC Korea would like to promote our policy of open and free trade and showcase our image as a leading economy in the IT industry by publicizing 'Dynamic Korea.'

"As the host of APEC 2005, Korea sincerely wishes to make significant contributions to the APEC region achieving APEC its goals and commitments.

"In preparation for APEC 2005, Korea has consulted extensively with Member Economies. In particular, Korea is working alongside Chile as the previous host economy and Viet Nam as the next year's host economy to ensure continuity.

"We hope to build upon what we learned from Chile in 2004 and pass that along to Viet Nam in 2006 and further strengthen progress towards APEC's ultimate free trade and investment goals."

The Second Senior Officials Meeting and related meetings for 2005 are scheduled for Jeju Island, Korea, on May 21-31 and will be followed by the meeting of APEC Ministers' Responsible for Trade on June 2-3.



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The logo for the 2006 APEC year that will be hosted by Viet Nam has been unveiled by Viet Nam's Deputy Foreign Minister, Vu Dung, at a ceremony in Ha Noi.

Drawing on the image of a traditional Vietnamese conical hat the logo also incorporates an oval that is representative of the global community in continuous development. The logo uses three colours, yellow, red and blue, to represent Asia, the Americas and the Pacific.

Mr. Dung said that he looked forward to seeing the logo used for official functions and publicity for APEC 2006, an occasion that he described as the biggest international event the country has ever hosted.

The logo was designed by Mr. Nguyen Van Dong from Ho Chi Minh City following a contest that attracted more than 140 entries. In making the award the design contest's judges applauded the logo that they described as "highly symbolic and easy to understand."

With the logo now having been officially adopted it will always appear along side the central blue and green APEC logo.

The 2005 host of the APEC process, the Republic of Korea, is currently preparing for the range of APEC events that will take place throughout the year before it passes hosting honours to Viet Nam in 2006. Included in this schedule in Korea is the Annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Ministerial Meeting in November, the APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting in October, Finance Ministers' Meeting in September, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting in August and the Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade in June. Korea will also host three remaining Senior Officials Meetings and a range of other APEC fora meetings.

Download a full version of the Viet Nam 2006 logo.



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A senior government delegation from Mongolia has visited the APEC Secretariat as part of efforts to intensify Mongolia's participation in APEC working groups and to enquire about procedures and criteria for eventual accession to APEC.

Headed by the Mongolian Prime Minister HE Mr.Tsahiagiin Elbegdorj the delegation toured the APEC Secretariat facilities before taking part in a briefing session to exchange opinions on APEC participation issues.

APEC Secretariat Executive Director, Ambassador Choi Seok Youngwelcomed the Prime Minister and his delegation, presented a general overview on APEC and explained APEC's membership criteria, including the current membership moratorium, which was agreed by APEC Leaders in 1997. Ambassador Choi also advised that no official discussions had taken place to date on new membership.

The delegation included Mongolia's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Battur Avirmed, Vice Minister for Construction & Urban Development, Mr Dashdorj Tsedev, the Vice Minister for Finance, Mr Ganzorig Chimeddorj, and other senior officials.

The APEC process currently has 21 Member Economies stretching from Russia in the west, through North and South-East Asia, to Australia and North and South America. All the existing Member Economies are located along the Pacific Rim. They account for around half of the world's trade, in excess of 60% of world GDP and are home to more than 2.6 billion people.



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Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Mr. Lee Hae-chan outlined the important role of the Asia-Pacific community as leaders in the areas of community building, technology exchange and innovation in his address at the APEC Secretariat in Singapore on Monday.

H.E. Mr. Lee mapped out the emergence of the Asia-Pacific region as the preeminent grouping, which will largely shape the agenda of 21st century. Mr. Lee pointed to the achievements of APEC economies which have begun the process of building a regional community based on mutual trust, true cultural and intellectual exchange and mutual respect amongst members.

H.E. Mr. Lee and his delegation were welcomed to the APEC Secretariat by Ambassador Choi Seok Young, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. Mr. Lee thanked the staff of the APEC Secretariat for their support and hard work to make APEC Korea 2005 a success and expressed his wishes for continued support throughout the remainder of 2005. Mr. Lee also indicated that the Government of Korea will present a gift to the APEC Secretariat before the end of 2005.

The Korean Prime Minister announced that a state-of-the-art convention centre is currently under construction in Busan, Korea, to accommodate the Annual APEC Economic Leaders' meeting in November. Mr. Lee said that the convention centre would leave a lasting impression on the Leaders of the 21 economies around the Pacific Rim, when they gather for informal meetings later in the year.

The Annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be preceded by the APEC Ministerial Meeting, APEC Business Advisory Council Meeting and Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting, all of which will take place in Busan, Korea from November 12-19, 2005.

Photographs of the visit by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Mr. Lee Hae-chan, to the APEC Secretariat are availalbe for downloads.



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China is hosting a meeting of prominent Asia-Pacific business leaders with the second 2005 meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Beijing on May 10-13.

Reinvigorating the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations will be at the top of ABAC's agenda as business leaders meet to identify private-sector priorities and discuss practical measures to advance these trade talks and strengthen the multilateral trading system.

An ABAC forum, specifically designed for local Chinese business executives on the challenges and opportunities faced by Chinese businesses going global and the significance of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, is also on the agenda. This unique event will provide Chinese business leaders with the opportunity to share ideas and learn from some of the Asia-Pacific region's leading business lights.

2005 ABAC Chair, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun of Korea, said that the meeting in China will provide an opportunity for ABAC members to agree on concrete actions to assist the WTO Doha Development Agenda talks, and to further develop the report which will be presented to APEC Economic Leaders at the end of 2005.

"Business Leaders have strong interests in the quick and comprehensive conclusion of the WTO DDA talks, and in the success of the November WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong, China. Business best understands business' priorities and needs. We are sending a high-level delegation to Geneva to meet with members of the APEC Geneva Caucus and the WTO to directly convey our concerns and constructively offer our ideas," Mr. Hyun said.

"Another important goal of this meeting in China is to review ABAC's contribution to the mid-term stocktake of APEC's progress, and to ensure we are providing achievable and realistic guidance to help regional governments meet the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010 and 2020."

Mr. Jae-Hyun said he is excited by the opportunity to convene an ABAC Meeting in China for the first time since China hosted both APEC and the final ABAC meeting of 2001.

"As the emerging economic giant of Asia, it is very pleasing to hold our second meeting in China. We hope that we can learn much from our hosts and impart some collective knowledge on the regional business environment to local firms," Mr. Hyun said.

This ABAC Meeting is the second of four meetings of prominent business leaders planned for 2005. Recommendations developed and agreed by ABAC at these meetings will be presented to APEC Economic Leaders at their annual meeting, which this year will be held Busan, Korea in November.

The Beijing ABAC Meeting will take place on May 10-13 at the Shangri-la Kerry Center Hotel. Separate media information will be issued providing further details for media wishing to attend photo opportunities and a press conference during the meetings.



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The foundations for greater regional emergency readiness were laid at the first face-to-face meeting of the APEC Virtual Task Force on Emergency Preparedness in Bali, Indonesia, on May 2-3.

One of the main priorities for the task force at the Bali meeting was to identify gaps in activities and capacity so as to enable APEC member economies to be better prepared to deal with regional disasters.

APEC Senior Officials agreed to establish the virtual task force, jointly chaired by Australia and Indonesia on an interim basis, to unify resources and skills in the APEC community to deal with future emergencies and natural disasters.

Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Choi Seok Young, said the first meeting of the task force was an important step forward in enhancing the regions' capacity to deal with potential threats to life and property. Since most of the natural disasters are not one-off in nature, the APEC's collective fight against those nature disasters will be a long-term task.

"The Boxing Day Tsunami was a tragic event that reminded us of the importance of the people of our region working together to overcome crises," Ambassador Choi said.

"This not only means working together after a disaster has occurred but cooperating beforehand to combine our intellectual and material resources.

The core aims of the task force are to strengthen preventive measures and enhance preparedness for natural disasters."

"The first meeting of the APEC Virtual Task Force on Emergency Preparedness is establishing the areas in which APEC is best suited to be proactive and complement other forums. It is important that our work does not duplicate the efforts of other forums and relief organizations. The meeting in Bali includes participation from governments, international NGOs, the business sector and representatives from a range of APEC working groups."

Ambassador Choi said the reach of APEC meant that the forum was well placed to facilitate the work of such a task force.

"APEC is a forum that covers a range of critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, energy & transport. The task for us is to ensure these sectors have the capacity to deal with a crisis when it occurs to ensure the immediate safety of local populations.

"Other areas such as tourism and small business have different preparation needs before a crisis. These are the sectors that will be called on to provide jobs and income to ensure the long term recovery following disasters."

The task force is expected to strengthen coordination efforts among APEC Member Economies and fora in relation to disaster relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in disaster stricken areas. To avoid duplication with work conducted by other regional and international organizations, the APEC virtual task force will focus on undertaking long-term capacity building initiatives to improve regional emergency and natural disaster management capability.



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APEC Trade Ministers have issued a joint statement calling on all WTO Members to meet the May deadline for submitting offers to progress services trade negotiations.

The joint statement, issued by ministers from APEC economies that are also Members of the WTO, has been sent to the Director-General of the WTO, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, by Korea's Minister for Trade, Mr. Kim Hyun Chong.

The APEC Ministers' statement highlights the need for progress to be made in the services areas including qualifications, licensing and standards in domestic regulations (Article VI:4), emergency safeguards (Article X), government procurement (Article XIII) and subsidies (Article XV).

The full text of statement that was presented to Dr. Supachai reads:

We, the Ministers Responsible for Trade of APEC economies who are members of the WTO*, are seriously concerned about the slow progress in the services negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). An urgent effort is required to impart momentum into these negotiations and to ensure a speedy and balanced outcome from the Round.

Competitive services sectors are of crucial importance for the efficient functioning of our economies. They promote innovation, and they permit the easy interaction of all economic sectors. Meaningful offers in sectors and modes of supply of interest to all economies, with particular attention to be given to developing economies, will support these aims further.

We recognize the importance of targeted technical assistance for WTO developing members with a view to enabling them to participate effectively in the negotiations. We also note that efforts should be made by WTO members to conclude the negotiations on rule-making under GATS Articles VI:4, X, XIII and XV in accordance with their respective mandates and deadlines.

In Santiago in November 2004 we called on all APEC members to submit urgently their initial offers if they had not yet done so, and to meet the agreed WTO deadline of May 2005 for improved revised offers. All APEC members are aiming to achieve this. We now call on all other WTO members to do likewise. Doing so will make a substantial and tangible contribution to the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference in December.

APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade scheduled due to hold their seventeenth annual meeting on June 2-3, this year on Jeju Island, Korea.

Progressing the Doha Development Round of WTO Negotiations is anticipated to feature prominently in discussions as APEC Member Economies prepare their collective contribution to the WTO Ministerial Meeting to be held in Hong Kong in December.

The letter from Mr. Kim to Dr. Supachai was posted from Seoul on May 9.

*APEC economies that are also WTO members are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand and United States. Russia and Viet Nam are negotiating to become WTO members and their support to this Ministerial Statement is without prejudice to the terms and position of their accession negotiations to the WTO.



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Issued by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)

Asia-Pacific business leaders have proposed greater public-private sector coordination in response to future crisis.

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), meeting May 10-13, in Beijing, China, mapped out a regional response strategy to better prevent and respond to future crises, as well as proactively launching work on energy security.

In response to disasters, such as the tsunami that recently struck the region, ABAC called for the establishment of a Regional Disaster Response Network to coordinate emergency preparedness on a regional basis.

"APEC needs robust early warning and rapid response systems, if it is to mitigate the damage done by disasters and crises." said 2005 ABAC Chair, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun of Korea.

While noting the need for effective government action, Mr. Hyun also observed that "Business can play a critical role as it possesses expertise and resources that the government may not."

"The most effective response should coordinate both the public and private sectors. The business community can complement official responses in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, and has a critical role in the longer-term reconstruction following a disaster."

ABAC members also expressed concern about the slow pace of the release of funds for tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts by economies in the region.

"Those hurt by the disaster continue to suffer until they can put their lives back together," Mr. Hyun said.

On Energy, ABAC noted that strong economic growth in the region has put growing pressure on economies' energy reserves, which makes energy prices more volatile and exposes economies to increased energy security risks.

"Effective solutions must involve both the public and private sectors, and they should be holistic and include developing new energy sources and technologies. These solutions should include measures to promote conservation and responsible use, energy efficiency, and effective government policies." Chairman Hyun noted.

ABAC is an advisory committee whose members are appointed directly by APEC Leaders and have been charged to provide advice and recommendations to Leaders. These recommendations detailed in an annual report that ABAC will deliver this year in Busan, Korea in November. ABAC has also in this meeting prepared an interim report for Leaders, which they will deliver to APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade when they meet in June in Jeju, Korea.



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The Director General of the Korean Tourism Bureau has challenged tourism industry representatives to lead the way in meeting the challenges to achieve one community in the APEC region.

Speaking at the 4th APEC Tourism Forum in Busan, Mr Kim Chan highlighted the growing importance of the tourism sector for the development of the regional economy.

Mr Kim said one of the core elements in meeting the challenges of community building is to take benefit from cultural diversity and he said the tourism sector is poised to do just that.

"To be one community, APEC Member Economies need to change their historical and cultural differences to highlight variety," Mr Kim said.

"Member Economies should also seek to alleviate the economic disparities among member economies through mutual cooperation."

At a working level Mr Kim said APEC Member Economies should adopt sustainable tourism strategies. These he said should include attention to issues such as product diversification that seeks to prevent reliance on a single style of tourism product, increased attention to marketing, the adoption of new technologies and advanced preparations to deal with potential crises or disasters.

To develop and implement suitable strategies, Mr Kim said it was essential that Member Economies pool intellectual resources and experience.

"APEC Member Economies should exchange and share their knowledge and experience in tourism. This combined effort could not only publicize the tourism industry in each economy, but also promote the tourism industry throughout the region," Mr Kim said.

"Each Member Economy also must play a leading role in establishing tourism ethics and developing principles of environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism."

In his address to the meeting Mr Kim presented figures that highlighted the dramatic increase in tourist arrivals over the past half century, rising from 25 million tourist arrivals in 1950 to 686 million arrivals in 2000.

In the APEC region Mr Kim said travel and tourism was estimated to have been responsible for around US$2.4 trillion in annual spending and maintained more than 94 million direct and indirect jobs in recent years. These figures are expected to rise exponentially by 2010.

A significant component of this spending and the job creation occurs in urban or rural areas and is particularly beneficial for small businesses.

The 4th APEC Tourism Forum is taking place in Busan, Korea, from 13 May and will be followed by the 26th Meeting of the APEC Tourism Working Group in Busan on 16-17 May 2005.



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Issued by the APEC Budget Management Committee (BMC)

US$966,336 has been committed by APEC Member Economies to undertake capacity building projects in the Asia-Pacific covering areas such as bio-safety policy development, counter terrorism preparedness and vocational training for small business people in tsunami affected areas.

The projects were agreed in principle at a meeting of the Budget and Management Committee in April and have now been endorsed by APEC's 21 Member Economies.

BMC Chair, Mr. Mario I. Artaza, said decisions on which APEC projects to fund are made by Member Economies based on a range of decisions including mandates issued by APEC Leaders and Ministers and the priorities set by that year's host of the APEC process.

"Korea 2005 will build on the success of Chile 2004 by investing resources in strengthening economic and social infrastructure in our region," Mr. Artaza said.

"Projects this year include a workshop to be held in Manila in December that will compare the obligations of economies under the WTO and the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety.

"The workshop, organized by the High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology, will examine the cross-sectoral roles and implications of bio-safety policy on agricultural trade, investment in research, public policy, environment and health safety."

Mr. Artaza said APEC will continue to strengthen counter terrorism preparedness in the region with specific capacity building initiatives included in this year's budget.

"Funding has been allocated to analyze the Counter Terrorism Action Plans of individual Member Economies in order to identify regional capacity-building opportunities.

"This work will be coordinated by the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force and involve a range a Member Economies, APEC Fora and other regional organizations.

"The ultimate outcome of this work will be to enable a better-coordinated approach to regional counter-terrorism assistance, and to help prevent the duplication of initiatives."

Other projects to be funded in 2005 include vocational training courses for micro and small to medium enterprises affected by the tsunami in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, and a capacity building initiative to strengthen energy infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific.

In total funding for 19 projects were approved by the BMC and Member Economies in 2005.

The BMC is made up of representatives of each of APEC's 21 Member Economies and meets twice each year.



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Korea's Trade Minister, Mr Hyun Chong Kim, has highlighted the importance of APEC Trade Ministers making a contribution to advancing the WTO Doha Development Agenda when they meet in Jeju, Korea, on 2-3 June.

In a letter to Ministers attending the Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade, Mr Kim urged his colleagues to use their time spent in ministerial retreat to "primarily discuss ways to contribute to the WTO DDA negotiations."

This he noted was particularly important for the anticipated success of the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference that will be held in Hong Kong, China, in December.

Mr Kim said he hoped APEC ministers would add momentum to progress made at the OECD Ministerial Council and the WTO mini-ministerial meeting in Paris recently. He expressed optimism that ministers would deliver a message on WTO DDA indicating that "APEC members are determined to achieve agreement on the negotiation modalities at the Ministerial Conference."

Following the Paris conference Mr Kim also communicated with APEC Trade Ministers to develop a joint statement calling on all WTO Members to meet the May deadline for submitting offers to progress services trade negotiations. At the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Chile last year, all APEC Members had agreed to submit urgently their initial offers and to meet this WTO deadline for submitting improved revised offers.

Mr Kim also made mention of other important issues for consideration by ministers including the midterm stock take of the Bogor Goals and ongoing issues such economic and technical cooperation, transparency and anti-corruption, and counter-terrorism.

Mr Kim welcomed all Member Economies' participation in the upcoming meeting that he said would generate benefits for the region.

"I hope the forthcoming meeting will provide us with an invaluable opportunity to consolidate APEC's work towards freer trade in the region and towards a safer business environment, while taking a lead in strengthening the multilateral trading system."

The Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade is preceded by a range of preparatory events that began on Saturday May 21 in Jeju. The final meetings before the commencement of the Trade Ministers' Meeting will be the second meeting of APEC Senior Officials for 2005 that will take place on May 30-31.



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Business leaders, security experts and government representatives are meeting in Incheon, Korea, today and tomorrow to develop solutions to make aviation and maritime transportation safer from the threat of terrorism and piracy.

The Third Annual Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR)Conference is seen as one of the major forums for advancing counter terrorism efforts in the APEC Region.

Chair of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force, General Benjamin P. Defensor, said the STAR Conference is expected to explore feasible policy guidelines for APEC economies that will be presented to the Leaders of APEC's 21 Member Economies when they meet in Busan in November.

"Overcoming the terrorist threat has become one of the most important challenges for governments this century," General Defensor said.

"For APEC overcoming the terrorist threat is a major part of our efforts to promote free trade and the healthy development of the regional economy.

"The STAR Conference provides an opportunity to ask what business feels is needed to keep passengers and cargo safe while not imposing unnecessary burdens on business."

The two day STAR Conference will include two concurrent forums on aviation security and maritime security.

The Aviation Security Forum will cover a range of areas such as baggage screening and procedures regarding the use of air marshals, threats to civil aviation from shoulder launched Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) and best practice for the collection and transmission of advance passenger information.

The Maritime Security forum will cover issues including the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the development of a container security regime and the protection of sea lane of communications from terrorist threats and acts of piracy.

Speakers at the Third STAR Conference include:

General Benjamin P. Defensor Jr., Chair of the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) and Ambassador for Counter Terrorism from the Philippines Office of the President, discussing the Agenda of the APEC CTTF.

Russ Mortenson, GE Security, Inc., GE Commerce Guard discussing Advanced Technology Solutions for in-transit Security of Containerized Cargo.

Dennis Holley, United States Federal Air Marshals Service, discussing the Federal Marshal Service.

Shengkun Ma, Deputy Director of the Department of Arms Control in the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussing Chinese Perspective on Measures to Prevent the International Spread of MANPADS.

Sang-Soo Kim, Korea Civil Aviation Safety Authority, discussing Baggage Screening Procedures in Incheon International Airport.

The First STAR Conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2003 followed by the Second STAR Conference in Viña del Mar, Chile, 2004.



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Senior policy officials and business representatives will seek ways to ensure people in the Asia-Pacific receive maximum benefit from biotechnology developments while protecting the environment when they meet in Seoul, Korea, on March 1-3.

The "4th annual High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology" will provide a final opportunity for over 100 representatives from APEC Member Economies to meet before the scheduled "Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol" in May.

This year's APEC Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology will provide an ideal opportunity for economies to identify policy issues that should be considered when decisions are being made on how to implement the Protocol. Economies present in the Policy Dialogue include both Parties and non-Parties to the Protocol, as well as exporters and importers.

This year's Policy Dialogue will also address Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer, and Bioinformatics. The Policy Dialogue will also review public policy development activities and consider future work in the context of the 2004-2006 Policy Dialogue Work Plan. This will include additional activities to support the development of attractive investment environments for biotechnology.

In conjunction with the Policy Dialogue, private sector representatives will also present a day of activities focusing on the Consumer Acceptance of Biotechnology.

Since the first Policy Dialogue 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. 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 benefits such as increased productivity, improved rural development and other benefits of agricultural biotechnology.



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Australia has announced that Sydney will be the host city for the 2007 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Describing the event as "the most significant international meeting to have been hosted by Australia" the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, said the 2007 APEC Leaders' Meeting is likely to be held in September.

Several thousand people, including the Leaders' and their representatives from each of APEC's 21 Member Economies, are expect to attend the Leaders' Meeting and associated events in Sydney.

Mr. Howard said a number of other ministerial and official meetings taking place as part of APEC Australia 2007 would be held in venues around the country.

"We're certainly very keen to hold as many of those other meetings as we can in other parts of Australia, including all of the states of Australia," Mr. Howard said.

Each year the APEC calendar typically includes a number of ministerial and officials' meetings that usually begin in February or March and conclude in the Week of the Leaders' Meeting.

In 2005 the First Senior Officials' and Related Meetings begin in February with the APEC Korea calendar concluding with the Leaders' Meeting in Busan in November.

With the massive logistical planning required to Host an APEC year, each host economy is selected several years in advance.

Major APEC Korea 2005 Meetings
APEC Past, Present and Future Host Economies



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Mexico will host a forum of major international business leaders this week when the first 2005 meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) convenes in Mexico City.

The meeting of executives who are individually selected by the Leaders of APEC's 21 Member Economies will discuss key business concerns and priorities confronting the regional economy.

The scheduled program will also give local Mexican business executives a chance to network with business leaders from around the Asia-Pacific region and discuss major issues confronting international business.

High on ABAC's agenda will be efforts to advance the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations in preparation for the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong in November.

ABAC Chair, Mr. Jae-Hyun Hyun, from Korea said the meeting in Mexico City is important as it will give the business community an opportunity to contribute to efforts to progress WTO negotiations.

"The business community must get behind efforts to progress DDA negotiations," Mr Hyun said.

"At our first meeting for 2005 ABAC will be looking at ways to build the public-private partnership between ABAC and APEC. One option we will consider is the possibility of ABAC working with the APEC Geneva Caucus in its efforts to progress WTO negotiations."

"After the WTO Cancun Meeting broke down two years ago, it is hoped that 2005 will be the year to get the process back on track," Mr. Hyun said.

"The current WTO round is particularly important for developing economies and the business community is looking at options for us to assist in getting negotiations back on track."

Mr. Jae-Hyun said he is looking forward to holding the first ABAC meeting in Mexico since 2002.

"We are pleased to be starting this year in Mexico City, such a dynamic and vibrant business city at the centre of the Americas," Mr. Hyun said.

This meeting is the first of four ABAC Meetings planned for various locations around the Asia-Pacific in 2005. The recommendations developed by ABAC at these meetings on issues such as WTO negotiations will be presented to APEC Leaders when they meet in Seoul in November.

The Mexico City Meeting will take place on February 22-25 at the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel. Separate media information will be issued providing further details for media wishing to attend photo opportunities and a press conference during the meetings.

The APEC Geneva Caucus is a forum of APEC Member Economy Ambassadors to the WTO that meets to exchange views and information on APEC's work and collective input to the WTO process.

Visit the ABAC Website: www.abaconline.org



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Sharing APEC's trade facilitation expertise with developing economies has been a key theme of an "APEC-WTO Trade Facilitation Roundtable" held recently in Geneva.

WTO Director-General, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, said the Roundtable provided an excellent opportunity to take account of the views of developing Member Economies that are key to advancing the current round of WTO negotiations.

"Today's Roundtable can contribute importantly to the task that negotiators in the WTO are facing on Trade Facilitation," Dr. Supachai said in his opening remarks to the roundtable.

"APEC has considerable experience on the benefits trade facilitation can produce in terms of an improved trading environment. APEC has also gained experience on the challenges that have to be faced at the national level to implement improved trade facilitation practices.

"WTO negotiators can benefit from learning more about APEC's experience on what has worked and what has not, how the reform of trade facilitation procedures should be sequenced and what has been found to be the best recommendations in this area."

Dr. Supachai highlighted the importance of trade facilitation negotiations that he said have created an important new dimension to the Doha Development Agenda.

"As tariffs and non-tariff barriers have fallen through successive Rounds of negotiations, it has become apparent that improved trade facilitation practices have the potential to contribute to increasing the volume of world trade," Dr. Supachai said.

"Faster processing of imports and exports, using streamlined procedures, can bring efficiency gains to the whole economy, revenue gains to the government, and commercial gains to private business. Trade Facilitation is a vital part of the market access package that is being negotiated in the Doha Round."

The roundtable was attended by more than 100 representatives of WTO Member Economies with a significant number of delegates from the non-APEC economies of Africa and the Caribbean.

Through first sharing of information on APEC's voluntary process, delegates from international forums and economies were able to look at the need for internationally standardized rules on trade facilitation within the WTO's legal framework.

Presentations to the Roundtable were made by a range of speakers including the Chair of APEC's Committee on Trade and Investment, Alan Bowman, the African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Elisabeth Tankeu, and the Chair of the WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiation Group, Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob.

Held on February 10, the APEC-WTO Trade Facilitation Roundtable 2005 was organized by Japan with the full cooperation of APEC and the WTO and intended to contribute to a successful completion of the Doha Development Agenda.

Dr. Supachai's Introductory Statement is available by clicking here.



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The Korean Deputy Minister for Trade and Investment Policy, Gye-hyung Lee, has called on the Asia-Pacific region to increase efforts to implement paperless trading systems.

The move is aimed at reducing red tape and the cumbersome administrative processed faced by businesses when they trade across borders using paper forms.

Addressing the APEC Private-Public Partnership Dialogue for promoting Paperless Trading in Seoul Mr. Lee highlighted the importance his government had placed on expanding paperless trading systems.

"For the Korean economy paperless trading is the 21st century's new paradigm," Mr. Lee told the opening session.

"The government has set this agenda as one of the top priorities of its trade promotion policy.

"Today's APEC Dialogue is a valuable opportunity to inducing effective cooperation between the public and private sectors, and I hope that it will play an important role in early realization of paperless trading in the APEC region."

Mr. Lee also noted that facilitating cross-border paperless trading faces obstacles due to the differences in trading processes between governments and the private sector.

"The standardization of trading documents has to be further discussed," Mr. Lee said.

"Each economy has to make efforts to overcome obstacles and challenges.

"I hope that today's meeting will be a meaningful opportunity for all participants to exchange insightful views and ideas."

The dialogue also provided an opportunity for business people to present their opinions to government representatives on issues such as the mutual recognition of Certification and Qualification standards.

The APEC Private-Public Partnership Dialogue for promoting Paperless Trading on February 22 was the first event in the program of 11th Meeting of the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG) taking place in Seoul until February 26.

Other issues and events on the ECSG program include efforts to promote data privacy protection including the development of cooperative arrangements between privacy investigation and enforcement agencies, and APEC research on overcoming E-mail SPAM.

The ECSG was established to promote the development and use of electronic commerce in the APEC region by creating legal, regulatory and policy environments that are predictable, transparent and consistent. One of the main functions of the ECSG is to provide a coordinating role for APEC e-commerce activities, based on the principles set out in the 1998 APEC Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce.

For further details on the work of the ECSG visit: www.export.gov/apececommerce



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The first round of APEC meetings of 2005 began today in Seoul, Korea, in a year that will see APEC undertake a review of progress towards its free trade goals. The 2005 APEC year will also see a major effort to advance the current round of World Trade Organization negotiations as well as the launch of the new APEC Anti-Corruption Task Force.

The Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Choi Seok Young, said 2005 is a pivotal year for APEC with the scheduled Mid-term Stock-take.

"2005 is the midpoint between the start of APEC in 1989 and APEC's 2020 goals," Ambassador Choi said.

"The Mid-term Stock-take will include assessments of actions by individual Member Economies to meet their Bogor Goals as well as input from business, academic and other contributors.

"Established in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994 the Bogor Goals set the target of free trade and investment in the APEC region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies."

Ambassador Choi said APEC is also expecting to provide substantial input to help advance WTO negotiations in 2005.

"APEC has put a lot of energy into reviving WTO negotiations individually and collectively," Ambassador Choi said.

"APEC Members represent a diverse range of developing and industrialized economies that account for half of the world's trade. Our Member Economies have shared a variety of perspectives on reviving the current round of WTO negotiations and we are committed to working together to see this process lead to a successful conclusion.

"With four Senior Officials' Meetings along with several Ministerial Meetings before the Leaders' Meeting in November, APEC will continue to combine our collective energies to assist the WTO process."

Ambassador Choi said corruption also found an important place in the APEC agenda in 2005 with a planned International Symposium on Anti-Corruption followed by the first meeting of the APEC Anti-Corruption Task Force.

"APEC Leaders and Ministers have made a strong commitment to eradicating corruption in our region. Corrupt practice in the government and private sectors is nothing short of robbery from the hard working people who contribute to the development of our region. When we deal with corruption we ensure that prosperity has an opportunity to grow."

The first round of APEC 2005 events begins with a series of meetings covering APEC sectoral areas and concludes with the first 2005 Senior Officials Meeting on March 3-4.



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Business leaders, security experts and government representatives are meeting in Incheon, Korea, today and tomorrow to develop solutions to make aviation and maritime transportation safer from the threat of terrorism and piracy.

The Third Annual Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR)Conference is seen as one of the major forums for advancing counter terrorism efforts in the APEC Region.

Chair of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force, General Benjamin P. Defensor, said the STAR Conference is expected to explore feasible policy guidelines for APEC economies that will be presented to the Leaders of APEC's 21 Member Economies when they meet in Busan in November.

"Overcoming the terrorist threat has become one of the most important challenges for governments this century," General Defensor said.

"For APEC overcoming the terrorist threat is a major part of our efforts to promote free trade and the healthy development of the regional economy.

"The STAR Conference provides an opportunity to ask what business feels is needed to keep passengers and cargo safe while not imposing unnecessary burdens on business."

The two day STAR Conference will include two concurrent forums on aviation security and maritime security.

The Aviation Security Forum will cover a range of areas such as baggage screening and procedures regarding the use of air marshals, threats to civil aviation from shoulder launched Man Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) and best practice for the collection and transmission of advance passenger information.

The Maritime Security forum will cover issues including the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the development of a container security regime and the protection of sea lane of communications from terrorist threats and acts of piracy.

Speakers at the Third STAR Conference include:

General Benjamin P. Defensor Jr., Chair of the APEC Counter-Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) and Ambassador for Counter Terrorism from the Philippines Office of the President, discussing the Agenda of the APEC CTTF.

Russ Mortenson, GE Security, Inc., GE Commerce Guard discussing Advanced Technology Solutions for in-transit Security of Containerized Cargo.

Dennis Holley, United States Federal Air Marshals Service, discussing the Federal Marshal Service.

Shengkun Ma, Deputy Director of the Department of Arms Control in the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussing Chinese Perspective on Measures to Prevent the International Spread of MANPADS.

Sang-Soo Kim, Korea Civil Aviation Safety Authority, discussing Baggage Screening Procedures in Incheon International Airport.

The First STAR Conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2003 followed by the Second STAR Conference in Viña del Mar, Chile, 2004.



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The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) held its first meeting of 2005 in Mexico City on February 21-24, which included sessions with Mexico's President, Vicente Fox, Ministers, and senior Mexican businesspeople.

ABAC believes pressure is building in the Asia-Pacific business community for substantial progress on trade liberalization and facilitation in 2005. ABAC came out strongly on these issues at its meeting.

The primary goal and focus of ABAC remains a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda. The ongoing WTO negotiations represent the best hope for creating the conditions and rules to ensure the growth of the world's economy. ABAC members are committed to working within their own economies, throughout the region, and in Geneva, to support the important WTO work in the areas of services, NAMA and Trade Facilitation. Without progress in these key areas the WTO negotiations will not succeed.

After more than a decade of slow progress with APEC's own reform efforts, ABAC has moved to respond decisively to the call by APEC Leaders in last November's Santiago Initiative for clear guidance on practical and immediate ways to advance the APEC trade agenda. On ABAC's radar is the potential for reform of APEC itself, so that the regional body can more quickly and more effectively expand trade and enhance economic growth. ABAC wants to see serious consideration of the potential for APEC to ask for much firmer - even binding - commitments from its member economies on trade reform. ABAC is working energetically to put bold initiatives to Leaders directly and through the mid-term review of APEC, which is currently looking at every aspect of the economic forum?s performance and potential.

The Capacity Building Working Group of ABAC discussed recommendations to government aimed at building awareness and support for the region's SMEs involved in the services sector. Over 75% of companies in all APEC economies are services SMEs. ABAC has asked APEC to set bold targets to increase services trade by SMEs, such as doubling the number of SME service exporters in each APEC economy by 2007. This will require providing technical assistance to APEC developing economies, including training of SMEs and successful services exporting.

In the wake of the Tsunami disaster ABAC is working to develop specific recommendations to APEC Leaders on how the region's business community can better coordinate with governments in responding to future disasters, whether natural, environmental, or man-made.



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The annual Secure Trade in the APEC Region (STAR) Conference has concluded with a common position that the region should not neglect the development of human skill levels in efforts to combat terrorism.

Chair of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force, General Benjamin P. Defensor, said the conference of around 300 business executives, security experts and government officials recognized the value of new technologies but stressed the importance in investing in human capital.

"The greatest resource we have in the war against terror is the intelligence and commonsense of our people," General Defensor said.

"The conference agreed that APEC should avoid the tendency to solely focus on technology and should emphasize the development of human resources, and practical solutions to problems.

"Certainly we need the support that is provided by new technologies, but we also need skilled people to do the real work in overcoming terrorism, to make life and death decisions and rely on human instinct.

"Ultimately it comes down to the skills of people in the government and private sectors who are the eyes, ears and brains of protecting our economies from terrorism.

"We hope Member Economies will keep our observations in mind when considering their counter terrorism strategies and invest in appropriate education and training programs."

Another recommendation to come from the STAR Conference was for the greater sharing of information on the sale, receipt and loss of shoulder launched surface to air rockets, or MANPADS.

Delegates also urged all APEC Member Economies to endorse and encourage timely implementation of the Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade under the World Customs Organization Framework.

These and a range of other recommendations will now be presented to the meeting of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force in Seoul next week and are anticipated will be considered as policy recommendations by Leaders and Ministers later in the year.

This Third STAR Conference was held in Incheon, Korea, on February 25-26 and covered the areas of Aviation and Maritime Security. The first STAR Conference was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2003 and the Second STAR Conference was held in Viña del Mar, Chile, in 2004.

Click here to access webcasts of the opening statements from the STAR Conference.



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The Third STAR Conference was opened with welcoming remarks from the 2005 APEC SOM Chair and Keynote speeches from the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat and the Chair of the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force.

These speeches are available via audio webcast.

[https://www]

Ambassador Jong-Hoon Kim, APEC 2005 SOM Chair, delivered Welcoming Remarks.

Dialup Audio

Broadband Audio

[https://www]

Ambassador Seok-Young Choi, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, provided a Keynote Speech.

Dialup Audio

Broadband Audio



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An independent APEC report has found that Russia's achievements to reach its free trade and investment targets have been positive. The report also highlights the important role that Russia has in the APEC process.

The "IAP Peer Review Report of the Russian Federation" is a review of the implementation of Russia's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals.

Compiled by Independent Expert, Professor Sung-Hoon Park from the Graduate School of International Studies at the Korea University the report covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's goals.

In the report Professor Park praised Russia's moves to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals in the set timeframe.

"It is the assessment of the Expert that positive developments in Russia have by far outpaced negative developments," Professor Park said in the report.

"Over the past few years, the Russian economy has become increasingly open and substantially more liberal. Tariffs are the action area in which Russia has progressed most substantially towards the Bogor Goals. The trade-weighted average tariff rates of Russia were reduced from 17.7% to 10.8% over the period of 1996-2003."

The report also noted the importance that the Russian Government has placed in Russia's participation in APEC since joining in 1998.

"The fact that the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Integration has adopted APEC as one of the three priority integration partners suggests that the Russian Government attaches a significant level of importance to cooperation with the APEC economies."

"The activities of Russia in the APEC process have been versatile and have become incrementally important. Especially in the area of facilitation, Russia has been able to strengthen its profile in diverse APEC activities."

The report also makes mention of the Russian Governments efforts to make information for investors and business people available online and in languages other than Russian.

"A number of English-language websites, which provide up-to-date information on the government's activities have been established. Also, many government agencies publish Newsletters on a regular basis, which should contribute to making the Russian trade policy more transparent and Russia's trading partners better understand the state of Russian trade policy regime."

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. Agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the target for achieving the Bogor Goals is 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Russia's IAP took place in Seoul this afternoon.



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Brunei Darussalam's progress towards achieving its APEC free trade and investment goals have been reviewed by and independent expert.

The "IAP Peer Review Report of the Brunei Darussalam" is a review of the implementation of Brunei Darussalam's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals.

Compiled by Independent Expert, Dr. Tze-Wei Chen, Assistant Professor of the Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation at the National Taiwan Norman University, the report covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's goals. 
Dr. Chen noted in the report that in relation to tariff issues Brunei is making progress.

"In sum, it might be concluded that Brunei Darussalam's progress in the tariff issue of 2004 IAP is cumulatively substantial," Dr. Chen said in the report.

"The path from the current standing towards the full realization of the Bogor Goal might involve further deliberations of certain fundamental principles and ideologies.

"According to information verified during the in-economy visit, Brunei Darussalam's perception of "free and open trade" is eliminating all tariffs. With this spirit, Brunei Darussalam appears to be moving towards this goal.

"Currently 79% of Brunei Darussalam's import tariff lines, or 5,130 out of 6,489 lines, are already at zero and the average applied rate is lower than 2%."

The report also noted the Brunei Economic Development Board's strategy to kick-start Brunei Darussalam's economic diversification and create at least 6,000 new permanent jobs by 2008.

The strategy includes accessing and attracting investment to develop downstream and manufacturing industries and the development of foreign direct investment clusters with growth potential for Brunei Darussalam.

The four priority areas identified by the government in this strategy cover business services, financial services, hospitality and tourism, and transportation services.

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. Agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the target for achieving the Bogor Goals is 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Brunei Darussalam's IAP took place in Seoul this afternoon.



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An independent report has found that the Philippines has made substantial progress towards achieving APEC's free trade and investment goals and described the Philippines as one of the leading developing economy members of APEC.

The "Philippines IAP Review" is a report on the implementation of the Philippines' Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals.

Compiled by Professor Junsok Yang of the Catholic University of Korea, the report covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's Bogor Goals.

The APEC Bogor Goals were established in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994 and set the target of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

Professor Yang said in the report that the Philippines has made substantial progress toward the Bogor Goals particularly in the area of trade in goods.

"For trade in goods, if the current trends and efforts continue at similar levels, the Philippines is likely to achieve the Bogor Goals by 2020," Professor Yang said in the report.

"The tariff rates for the Philippines are very low given its developing status, and it has made good progress in the areas of non-tariff barriers, customs procedure, intellectual property rights, and standards and conformance.

"Good first steps have been made in the areas of customs procedures, standards and conformance, and competition policy.

"The Philippines has established the necessary legal and institutional framework to protect intellectual property rights.

The report praised the Philippines' active participation in the APEC process and the efforts made to develop the economy.

"The Philippines is one of the leading developing economy members of APEC. Since the 1990s, the Philippines has made great efforts in liberalizing its economy, and introducing competition into the economy."

Professor Yang thanked the Government of the Philippines, particularly the Bureau of International Trade Relations for facilitating the in-economy visit of the research team, that he said made substantial efforts to ensure the visit was productive.

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 the Philippines' IAP took place this morning in Seoul.



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An independent APEC report has predicted that domestic and foreign investment in Indonesia will expand as the government?s reform efforts are realized and confidence in the economy grows.

The "Indonesian IAP Study Report" is a review of the implementation of Indonesia's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. These goals have particular significance for Indonesia as they were established at the meeting of APEC Leaders' in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994. The Bogor Goals set the target of free trade and investment in the APEC Region at 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

In the report compiled by Dr. Inkyo Cheong, from the Inha University in Korea, Indonesia is noted to be continuing efforts for trade and investment liberalization and economic reform.

"At the current pace of policy and structural reforms, it is believed that the country can meet its commitments of trade and investment liberalization by 2020," Dr. Cheong said in the report.

"To achieve the Bogor Goals of trade liberalization by 2020, Indonesia is in the process of eliminating tariffs and barriers to trade on services and investment, as well as advancing business facilitation.

"Despite the difficult domestic and international circumstances faced by developing countries, Indonesia has clearly stated its position regarding the Bogor Goals. As the government's will for reform becomes realized, the efforts for liberalization in Indonesia will accelerate and the trade-investment environment will improve. Then, domestic and foreign investment in Indonesia will expand and the economy will be back on the growth track that will bring about low unemployment and stabilization in consumer price levels.

The report found that Indonesia has shown meaningful commitments to the achievement of the Bogor Goal by binding tariff rates and reducing bound tariff rates since 1996.

"According to the Indonesian IAP, the country has carried out systematic efforts to remove government-based restraints on trade, industry and the empowerment of the private sector. This has been through a consistent process of deregulation, de-centralization and de-bureaucratization," Dr. Cheong said.

The report also notes the damage suffered by the recent tsunami and states "thanks to the support from the international community and active measures taken by the government, the situation is gradually becoming stabilized."

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Indonesia's IAP took place in Seoul this morning.



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An independent report has found that Papua New Guinea has made significant progress to achieve its free trade and investment goals as part of the APEC process. The report also praised reforms underway in Papua New Guinea to increase transparency.

The "IAP Study Report Papua New Guinea" is a review of the implementation of Papua New Guniea's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals. Compiled by Independent Expert, Mr. Gordon La Fortune from Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates of Canada, the report covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's goals.

In the report Mr. La Fortune highlights the structural reforms introduced in Papua New Guinea since the mid 1990's that have made significant progress toward achieving free trade and investment objectives.

"The Tariff Reform Program and the decision to establish the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission are the most important steps taken to date," Mr. La Fortune said.

"Although the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission was only established in 2002, it has made steady progress in regulatory review and deregulation.

"So long as the political will exists to support the Commission and its work, there is no reason to believe that it will not enforce competition laws in a fair and transparent manner."

Mr. La Fortune was complimentary of the work of the Investment Promotion Authority to introduce reforms that increase transparency and make PNG more attractive to investors.

"The Investment Promotion Authority is working to reduce barriers to investment by eliminating the Reserved Activities List in favour of the more open Cottage Business Activities List.

"The Investment Promotion Authority is also seeking to eliminate 'special arrangements' or 'time factored' incentives and Ministerial discretion in favour of transparent legislated tax incentives that would apply to all investors.

Mr. La Fortune also praised amendments to the government procurement system which is being amended, including elimination of Ministerial Waivers. He noted that these changes to government procurement should limit the use of sole source procurements and move towards greater transparency. Mr. La Fortune concluded that the objectives outlined in the report can be achieved so long as Government continues to support the program and can make budgetary resources available.

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. Agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the target for achieving the Bogor Goals is 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Papua New Guinea's IAP took place in Seoul this morning.

Click here for news photos relating to the IAP Study Report of Papua New Guinea.



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The 4th High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology is taking place in Seoul, Korea, on March 1-3.

The opening remarks by Mr. Lee Myung Soo, Vice Minister from the Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Dr. Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under-Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are available via video webcast.

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Mr. Lee Myung Soo, Vice Minister from the Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

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Dr. Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Increasing the skills of trade officials from developing economies in WTO trade facilitation negotiations was the aim of an APEC workshop in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

Jointly hosted by the Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the workshop examined issues involved in the negotiation of WTO trade facilitation issues.

With APEC's extensive experience in promoting trade facilitation efforts at a regional level, the workshop brought trade and customs officials together with business representatives from APEC Member Economies to share their knowledge.

The workshop was particularly important following the launch in August last year of multilateral negotiations on trade facilitation as part of the current round of WTO negotiations. These trade facilitation negotiations aim to expedite the movement, clearance and release of cross-border cargo and thereby lower business costs. The workshop aimed to improve the awareness of the trade regulations, fees and formalities that each economy applies to the movement of goods across their borders.

The Chair of the WTO Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation, Ambassador Muhamad Noor Yacob of Malaysia, addressed the workshop on the current status and future directions of the WTO negotiations.

Guest speakers included government and business representatives from various APEC economies, as well as Geneva-based trade negotiators who are at the centre of current WTO negotiations.

Australia's Acting High Commissioner to Malaysia, Mr. Simon Merrifield, said he hoped the workshop would benefit individual economies as well as contributing to a successful conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda round of WTO negotiations.

"A positive outcome on trade facilitation would be one of the key achievements of the Doha Round, one that would deliver tangible and lasting benefits for business", Mr. Merrifield said in opening the workshop.

"APEC has led the way in trade facilitation reform, and I am confident this wealth of experience will yield positive lessons for the WTO negotiations".

The workshop was facilitated by Mr Andrew Stoler, Executive Director of the International Institute for Business, Economics and Law at the University of Adelaide. Mr Stoler is a former Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and currently serves as the Director of the private-sector, not-for-profit Trade Facilitation Alliance.

A report on the workshop outcomes will be presented to the next session of APEC's WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiating Group. 



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An independent APEC report has stated that Malaysia deserves "high credit" for its actions to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals. The report also described Malaysian policy makers as "demonstrating considerable flair for policy innovation" in their pursuit of new export industries.

The 116 page "IAP Study Report of Malaysia" is a review of the implementation of Malaysia's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals.

The report was compiled by Mr. William A. Dymond, Senior Executive Fellow from the Centre for Trade Policy and Law at Carleton University in Canada and covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's goals.

In the report Mr. Dymond highlighted Malaysia's cross-sectoral approach to meeting development goals in areas such as tariffs, service industries and government procurement.

"Malaysia's fulfillment of the APEC goals flows from its national objectives of sustained political and social stability, balanced economic growth among regions and ethnic groups and the eradication of poverty," Mr. Dymond stated in the report.

"These policies are enabling Malaysia to meet the challenges of sustainable economic development in an environment of rapidly changing rules of global trade, resources flows and competition arising from globalization.

"Malaysia's readiness to embrace the challenge of structural adjustment creates the foundation for sustainable broad-based economic development."

In highlighting the skills of policy makers in developing growth sectors, the report noted Malaysia's reputation for the setting of standards to foster export industries.

"The development of measurement tools, for example, regarding the knowledge-based economy adds rigor and ambition to innovation policy making."

The report also praised Malaysian policies to promote and incorporate the development of local entrepreneurs into the national and global economies.

Mr. Dymond thanked Malaysian authorities for both their collaboration during the visit by the IAP Review team and for the comprehensive replies to questions raised by other economies.

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. Agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the target for achieving the Bogor Goals is 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Malaysia's IAP took place in Seoul this morning.



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Delegates from each of APEC's Member Economies have gathered in Seoul for the First Meeting of APEC Senior Officials in 2005.

Working to the theme of "Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge, Make the Change" Senior Officials are making preparations for the Ministerial and Leaders Meetings that will take place during 2005.

The first Senior Officials' Meeting is covering areas such as APEC's support for the resumption of the Doha Development Round of WTO negotiations, the role of Free Trade Agreements in the APEC process and APEC capacity building projects underway in 2005.

The Chair of the APEC Senior Officials' process in 2005 is Ambassador Jong-Hoon Kim of Korea. Mr Kim opened the meeting this morning by welcoming delegates from the far corners of the APEC region and outlining the work plan for the coming two days of meetings.

Click for News Photos of Ambassador Jong-Hoon Kim and group photo of Senior Officials.

The first day of this Senior Officials Meeting is an informal event where views and opinions are sought from Member Economies on a range of current issues. The second day is the more rigorous Plenary Session in which Member seek to find common ground on issues that will later be presented to Ministers and Leaders.

The Plenary Session will be opened by Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Ban Ki-Moon, on Friday morning.

There will be three additional Senior Officials' Meetings and four ministerial meetings at various locations during 2005 with the conclusion of the year being the APEC Leaders' meeting in Busan, in November.



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An independent report has found that Viet Nam has made good progress on tariff reform and in removing the pervasive system of administrative controls and restrictions on trade. The report also highlights Viet Nam's success in achieving economic growth and improving the well-being of the people.

The "Viet Nam IAP Study Report" is a review of the implementation of Viet Nam's Individual Action Plan (IAP) to achieve APEC's free trade and investment goals. Compiled by Mr. Bob Warner of the Director Centre for International Economics in Australia, the report covers thirteen specific issue areas relating to the realization of APEC's goals.

In the report Mr. Warner notes while there is still work to be done, Viet Nam has made good progress on tariff reform and in removing the pervasive system of administrative controls and restrictions on trade.

"Viet Nam's reform and development agenda over the last decade and a half has been extraordinarily wide ranging, reflecting the challenge of a transition from central planning to a market economy," Mr. Warner said in the report.

"Viet Nam has confirmed that it will eliminate all trade related investment measures that are prohibited by the Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures upon accession to the WTO," Mr. Warner states in the report.

"The Government has also under¬taken to remove some remaining measures, for example import surcharges and export subsidies upon accession to the WTO.

"Viet Nam has been remarkably successful in achieving economic growth and improvements in the well-being of its people since it began its comprehensive program of restructuring and renovation, or doi moi, in the late 1980s."

The report notes that agencies such as customs have undertaken significant reforms.

"Viet Nam's customs system has come a long way in a relatively short period of time and in the face of some difficult geographical, infrastructural and capacity constraints.

"A Customs Modernisation Strategy that is receiving donor support should provide the basis for significant improvements in customs procedures and processing."

Mr. Warner also observes that access to information has also improved.

"There have been significant improvements in the quality and availability of information on laws, economic and social statistics and the operations of govern¬ment in recent years. This reflects some important policy changes and also increasing use of information and communications technology."

Excerpts from each of the thirteen areas of assessment are now available by clicking here. The full report will be available on the e-IAP website once it has been presented to APEC Senior Officials in Seoul on March 4.

IAPs serve as a roadmap for APEC economies to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the APEC region. Agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the target for achieving the Bogor Goals is 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies. Seven APEC Member Economies are having their IAPs' reviewed at the current round of APEC meetings in Korea. This process involves a presentation by the Independent Expert 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 Viet Nam's IAP took place in Seoul on Wednesday.



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APEC Ministers have endorsed a package of actions to enable Member Economies to better investigate, prosecute and recover assets of officials and Individuals guilty of public corruption.

The "APEC Anticorruption and Transparency Course of Action"identifies a number of concrete actions, including calls to Member Economies to deny safe haven to officials and individuals found guilty of public corruption and those who corrupt them.

The package also requires greater regional cooperation on issues of extradition, mutual legal assistance and the recovery and return of proceeds of corruption.

Chair of the Ministers' Meeting, Ignacio Walker, praised the overwhelming support of ministers for APEC anti-corruption efforts and described the package as historic.

"Corruption is a scourge that imposes heavy costs to all economies and undermines business confidence," Minister Walker said.

"The Course of Action endorsed today demonstrates APEC's commitment to combat this scourge. Now we look forward to APEC Leaders advancing APEC's anti-corruption agenda this weekend.

"Corruption is a complex economic, political and social problem that has destructive repercussions on every sphere of our societies. Corruption is a moral challenge that threatens democracy and economic growth, as well as the integrity of our institutions and our social values.

"As the World Bank has noted, the direct costs of bribery alone to national economies is over one trillion dollars each year. 
Minister Walker also welcomed the support of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) which is promoting a private sector initiative to combat corruption.

The ABAC Chair for 2005, Mr Jae Hyun Hyun of Korea, said the business community represented by ABAC notes the importance of this APEC initiative and put its full support behind the package.

"Business welcomes the initiative of the APEC Anticorruption and Transparency Course of Action because it promotes business activities through securing fair competition," Mr. Hyun said.

"APEC's initiative on anticorruption and transparency will open a new era of business and commerce if it is implemented uniformly by APEC governments."

Robert Prieto, Senior Vice President of Fluor Corporation, and USA ABAC Representative, said the package will reduce a heavy burden restraining business development.

"We welcome the initiative of APEC Ministers in battling corruption which is one of the primary 'taxes' on business and an enormous burden on social and economic development throughout the region."



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An independent report has found that APEC Member Economies are making significant progress towards the APEC goal of achieving at least community-based access by 2010.

In its assessment of progress on the e-APEC strategy, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) also notes that the number of people with individual access to the Internet in the APEC region is likely to at least double between 2000 and 2005.

The report was delivered to APEC Ministers during their meeting this week in Santiago, Chile.

The PECC report states that the goal of achieving at least community based Internet access, established by APEC Leaders in Brunei in 2000, is within reach as new generation wireless technologies become available for widespread use.

With the Leaders urging, efforts have increased in intensity and PECC has found that the APEC region is on track to meet the 2010 connectivity goal.

The report notes that the e-APEC Strategy is increasing in importance because the region is tending to integrate through ICT-driven systems. The report notes that the economies that will benefit most from rise of the digital economy are those economies that cooperate and coordinate in developing these ICT-driven systems.

Ministers acknowledged that expanding the infrastructure and skills required to enable at least community based Internet access requires a concerted effort from economies and APEC fora.

Indonesia's Trade Minister, Dr. Mari Pangestu, said at the Ministers' Meeting that expanding Internet access over large geographic economies such as Indonesia has its challenges but is imperative for its people to engage in the digital economy.

"The Government is committed to expanding Internet across the country in accordance with the e-Apec Strategy," Dr. Pangestu said.

"But to ensure universal benefit from this process we also need to build skills capacity of our people to use this new technology."

It is envisaged that the ultimate results of all people in the APEC region having at least community based access to the Internet will have a profound impact on the delivery of health, education and government services. It is hoped that developing areas that currently do not have access to some essential services will see significant increases in their standards of living.

The full report can be downloaded here.



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The 12th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting has concluded in Santiago, Chile.

Leaders have issued the "Santiago Declaration" that is now available on the APEC website.

Issues covered in the Santiago Declaration:

Advancing Development through Trade and Investment Liberalization

Santiago Initiative for Expanded Trade in APEC

Enhancing Human Security - Underpinning Economic Growth

Promoting Good Governance and a Knowledge-Based Society



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Innovation in bio-medical sciences through the Asia-Pacific region has been given a boost by APEC Leaders at their meeting in Santiago, Chile.

Following two years of preparation, APEC Leaders have endorsed the Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) Strategic Plan. This is a landmark document that aims to improve the health and well-being of citizens by encouraging investment and innovation across the key areas of research, development, manufacturing and marketing, and health services.

Chair of the APEC LSIF, Thai Minister Suwit Khunkitti, said the Life Sciences Innovation Forum Strategic Plan provides a set of best practice guidelines for use by Member Economies.

"The strategic plan will assist economies to develop an environment that attracts investment and supports innovation to promote health and well-being for our people," Minister Khunkitti said in his summary prepared for Leaders.

"Life Sciences is an important economic sector that supports innovation to better understand and overcome serious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region.

"This plan sets a priority of addressing the challenges of risk detection and prevention, as well as the treatment and cure of the communicable and life-style diseases in the region.

"The imperative for implementation of this plan has been made all the more pressing by the current focus on health priorities in the region. This is something we have factored in to the plan to ensure both a responsive and a long-term perspective on health policy."

"The APEC region is poised to take a leadership role in the Life Sciences sector and the implementation of this strategic plan will provide a model for a global approach to life sciences innovation."

The plan includes a number of groundbreaking initiatives for APEC economies, including proposals to:

Explore the feasibility of establishing a Regional Venture Capital facility to accelerate research and development of devices, diagnostics, medicines and other treatments of diseases affecting developing economies.

Increase information sharing among regulators in APEC Member Economies with regard to safety issues, counterfeit products and other risks.

Build support for a major molecular diagnostics initiative to help reveal the early onset of chronic diseases and an associated large scale cohort and monitoring program to gather essential information for the assessment of risk and early disease intervention.

The concepts and principles laid out in the strategic plan will be used to develop a road-map for implementation in interested economies. As part of the plan, Thailand will host a Life Sciences Ministerial Meeting in 2005 to examine holistic approaches to life sciences innovation to better meet the health needs of the region.

The LSIF was established in response to a call by Leaders at their 2002 Meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, to develop a strategic plan for life sciences innovation in the region. Leaders declared that "investing in health will benefit economic growth, worker performance and productivity, and poverty alleviation."

Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) Strategic Plan can be downloaded here.



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APEC Member Economies committed this week to a new plan for paperless trading. The plan lays out specific actions to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for business by replacing paper international trade documentation with their electronic equivalents.

Endorsed by APEC Ministers at their meeting this week in Chile, the "APEC Strategies and Actions Towards a Cross-Border Paperless Trading Environment" will reduce duplication and waste in trade transactions by promoting cooperative efforts among a wide range of government agencies and private transportation businesses.

The Strategies include initiatives to harmonize domestic laws and customs declaration procedures through the establishment of a web-based single-window information exchange framework.

As a further step to push forward paperless trading and to facilitate seamless trade, Ministers agreed to adopt the new "Strategies and Actions" in order to achieve cross-border electronic transmission of trade related information.

This strategic approach has required significant levels of cooperation from a wide range of agencies and private sector representatives and it has involved capacity building efforts and collaboration with other organizations. In response to a recommendation by the APEC Business Advisory Council, further cooperative actions are underway to develop a "single window" for all trade-related documents.

The strategies and actions being taken reflect the e-APEC Strategy on both domestic and regional levels. Through the implementation of these action plans, the region will benefit from the creation of an open, secure, and seamless environment for the cross-border electronic transmission of trade-related information.

The Strategies is the latest effort in the APEC Paperless Trading Agenda, which aims to eliminate the requirement for paper documents needed for trade administration, customs clearance and international transport. The Action Plan expects that most economies will enhance their domestic paperless trading system and begin pilots for cross-border exchange by 2010. The aim is to establish a comprehensive paperless trading environment across the region by 2020.



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The official photograph of the 2004 APEC Leaders Meeting has been taken in Santiago, Chile.

As has been an APEC tradition since the Leaders' Meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, Leaders have been presented with local cultural attire to wear in the official photograph.

For the official photograph of the APEC Chile Year, APEC Leaders were presented with traditional Chilean "Chamantos."

The Chamanto is an intricate garment in a poncho style. Taking several months to create, the Chamanto contains an important emotional component in the detail of the weave that that embodies a legacy that is part Chilean heritage.

The Chamantos worn by APEC Leaders have been made by eight weavers from Doñihue, a small town located in Central Chile.

The Chamanto is woven in silk thread and wool and is reversible with a light and a dark side. Traditionally, the dark side of the poncho is used during the day while its light side is mostly worn at night. Each Chamanto is unique in its shape, coloring and pattern with the intricacy of the design sketched by crossing the threads. The figures featured in the Chamantos include Chile?s national flower the copihues, barley and wheat ears, blackberries, bunches of grape, fuchsias, pansies and various birds representative of the national fauna.

Downloads of the Official Leaders' Photograph are available here.



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Agricultural biotechnology scientists, government representatives and investment experts are meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week to develop a summary of priority goals and critical tools for APEC economies to encourage investment in agricultural biotechnology.

The meeting on December 7-9 will address policy and economic factors affecting the investment environment for agricultural biotechnology.

The Kuala Lumpur seminar, "Creating a Positive Investment Environment for Agricultural Biotechnology," is being held in response to priorities identified by the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology.

Agricultural biotechnology is seen in the APEC process as offering potential to promote regional economic growth as well as deliver direct benefits to enhance crop production. However the development of the agricultural biotechnology sector faces challenges in attracting investment.

This seminar will enable participants to further explore the factors necessary to employ new agricultural biotechnology technologies as a means to further develop their economies.

Malaysia's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, YB Dato' Sri Dr. Jamaludin b Dato' Mohd Jarjis, will open the seminar on Tuesday. Contributors to the conference will include a range of academic, government and business representatives.

Professor Cho Kyun Rha, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will provide the keynote address on business opportunities for agricultural biotechnology in APEC.

Professor Cho's address will include key the presentation of considerations and strategies to foster investments in biotechnology and promote the development of the agricultural sector.

The next step in developing APEC's initiatives in the agricultural biotechnology sector will be the presentation of the priority goals and critical tools developed in Kuala Lumpur to the 2005 APEC Policy Dialogue in Korea.

Additional details on the seminar are available at: http://www.apec.org/apec/InvstEnvAgriBiotechSeminar.html



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APEC Leaders have committed to a new APEC strategy to strengthen regional efforts to overcome corruption that will include the establishment of the APEC Anticorruption and Transparency (ACT) capacity-building Program.

The ACT Program will enable APEC Member Economies to develop policy and legislative changes that have been agreed by Leaders in the Santiago Commitment to Fight Corruption and Ensure Transparency. The strategy also includes a high level APEC anti-corruption symposium in Korea next year.

Agreed at the annual APEC Leaders Meeting that was held in Santiago, Chile, on November 20-21, the range of anti-corruption measures also includes a specific set of actions that economies can use for fighting corruption and ensuring transparency. These include measures to enable Member Economies to deny safe haven to officials and individuals found guilty of public corruption and those who corrupt them.

United States President, George W. Bush, said the package will assist developing economies to pass new laws that will ultimately reward the hard work of their people.

"We believe every nation is capable of fighting corruption, is capable of putting good economic policies in place," Mr. Bush said in relation to the potential the package holds for economies in the region.

Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, highlighted the importance of developing ways to prevent corrupt practices and reduce the significant financial burden corruption paces on the region.

"Corruption increases the costs of doing business and can act as a powerful disincentive for foreign investors," Mr Howard said in Santiago.

"Under APEC's anti-corruption initiative, members will receive training and technical assistance to investigate and prosecute corruption cases, increase judicial integrity and combat money-laundering and terrorist financing."

The Anticorruption and Transparency Capacity-Building Program includes technical assistance targeted at helping APEC economies address key areas outlined in the Santiago Commitment and the APEC Anticorruption Course of Action.

Practical workshops and training programs will be developed as part of this program to deal with investigatory and prosecutorial techniques, judicial reform, anti-money-laundering, asset forfeiture and recovery, and the APEC Transparency Standards.

By launching this historic anticorruption initiative, APEC Member Economies hope to reduce the economic loss caused by corruption in the region and to promote a culture of integrity and lawfulness.

The APEC Member Economies funding activities under the ACT Program are Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Korea, and the United States.



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Government officials and private sector representatives from APEC economies have concluded a seminar in Kuala Lumpur to examine policy and economic factors that impact the environment for investments in agricultural biotechnology.

Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dato' Sri Dr. Jamaludin Jarjis, opened the seminar entitled "Creating a Positive Environment for Investment in Agricultural Biotechnology," which was presented in response to priorities identified in the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Jamaludin shared insight into the unique way in which Malaysia has successfully initiated the development of an agricultural biotechnology sector. Dr. Jamaludin drew attention to the ways in which Malaysia's rich biodiversity is conserved and innovations focus upon regional market niches. He highlighted Malaysia's comprehensive national policy that addresses the entire agricultural biotechnology value chain. This ranges from research and development to the marketplace with particular attention placed on building partnerships and investing in human capacity.

Expert presentations throughout the two and a half day seminar reinforced the message that economies need to identify their own comparative advantages and formulate a commensurate national strategy to successfully develop an agricultural biotechnology sector.

Speakers, including Prof Paul Teng, Head of Education at Nanyang Technological University and Dr Tantono Subagyo of the Indonesian Intellectual Property Society, also concentrated on the need for long-term commitments to address basic elements of a successful investment environment.

These elements include:

Strong research and product development capabilities

Information and infrastructure to compete in domestic and international markets

Intellectual property systems to protect inventions and encourage technology transfer

Efficient and predictable regulatory environments

Expert speakers concluded that a coordinated national policy addressing each of these elements is critical as economies look to build a successful agricultural biotechnology sector.

The seminar took place on December 7-9 and concluded with participants developing a list of priority goals and suggested approaches to enhance the investment environment for agricultural biotechnology among APEC members. These recommendations will be formally presented to the 2005 APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology in Seoul, Korea on March 1-3 where further steps will be considered.



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A new report presented to the APEC Energy Working Group (EWG)estimates that the global export potential of natural gas should grow to exceed $200 billion per annum (based on current prices) in twenty years.

However the report also notes that an investment of $10-15 billion per annum is required to improve gas transportation infrastructure in APEC Member Economies to overcome a major bottleneck for cross-border natural gas trade.

The report recommends a regional collaborative international forum be established to guide coordinated industry development and to ensure the maintenance of the energy balance of the APEC region.

The report "Great Expectations: Cross-Border Natural Gas Trade in APEC Economies" is a study of best practice in APEC Member Economies that is intended to assist economies to accelerate cross-border gas natural gas trade.

With natural gas viewed as the "swing fuel" to lead the world in the direction of more sustainable energy systems for at least the next quarter century the report cites the export potential of the industry.

"Natural gas is also commonly spoken of as the "bridging fuel" on the way to a hydrogen economy in 30-50 years or more from now," the report states.

"Globally, by 2025, the value at current prices of the additional volume of cross-border natural gas trade should exceed $200 billion per annum. Within APEC alone, the value of the additional trade should exceed $100 billion per annum.

"There is an abundance of natural gas globally. Proved global reserves of natural gas are estimated to be 176 trillion cubic meters (tcm), or 67 times the volume used in 2003."

With the two main transportation channels currently used for gas transportation being pipelines or special tankers as liquefied natural gas (LNG) the report argues that "many of these resources are, however, 'stranded' in the sense that they are isolated from markets and cannot be taken to markets without installing very costly transportation channels."

"There is also a huge geographic disparity between the locations of the resources and the centers of demand."

In its recommendations the report states that the "great expectations of natural gas will not be fully realized unless there is collaboration amongst governments, investors and communities in developing and operating natural gas supply chains.

"A collaborative institutional mechanism is recommended for this purpose, as part of a three-level best practice regime."

The report recommends that best practice in cross-border natural gas trade in APEC economies should be approached at three complementary levels:

Best practice at the international level calls for the establishment of a flexible, collaborative forum in which all key stakeholders may be engaged

Best practice at the individual economy level requires investments to be facilitated in exporting and importing economies, and "industry vision" to be devised, markets to be created and regulatory reform to be implemented in importing economies and

Best practice at the individual project level requires a "total package project management" approach.

In terms of export potential the report notes that within the APEC region "there are five economies that have the most to gain in terms of boosting their future export revenues by supplying natural gas from their abundant domestic resources. Russia is by far the best positioned in this respect but Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam have much to gain as well.

"Other exporting economies have taken a formulaic approach where exports could only be sanctioned when either the level of gas reserves or the capacity to deliver gas to the domestic market had been satisfied. Papua New Guinea for example requires either a ministerial instrument or agreement with the state before natural gas can be exported. Papua New Guinea has been suggested as a potential site for an LNG export facility although no firm plans have been announced."

Japan, the Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei are mentioned in the report as major importers of LNG for many years.

"The two APEC economies that have most to gain, in terms of their gaining future access to increased natural gas imports for their domestic consumption, are China and the United States. Both economies are currently planning or installing new LNG receiving terminals along their respective coastlines. Mexico may also become a significant importer.

At the time that this report was written Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines were undertaking studies for the future import of LNG while Indonesia was considered as possibly becoming an importer as well as a major exporter.

The report was prepared by ResourcesLaw International in Australia on appointment from the APEC EWG in January 2004 to undertake a study of best practice to accelerate cross-border gas natural gas trade in APEC economies. The principal authors of the report were Robert Pritchard and Stuart Bensley. Content in the report is based on information derived from a series of three APEC workshops held between May and August 2004 together with research carried out by ResourcesLaw.

The report was initially presented to the EWG in November and is now available for public distribution. The report sets out the views of the consultants and does not represent the official views of APEC or any of its member economies.



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Singapore's newest resident is a famous and mysterious Moai sculpture of Easter Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The Moai sculpture is a gift from the Republic of Chile to the APEC Secretariat in Singapore that was officially presented by Chile's President, Ricardo Lagos, during his recent visit to Singapore.

Having now made its journey across the Pacific from Chile the Moai will be unveiled in Singapore on Monday before representatives of APEC Member Economies.

The unveiling will provide an interesting visual media opportunity showcasing the cross-cultural role of Singapore and APEC in building bridges across the Asia-Pacific.

Time: 4.30pm, Monday, 20 December 2004

Venue: APEC Secretariat, 35 Heng Mui Keng Terrace

Available for interview will be the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Mario Artaza (from Chile) and representatives of other APEC economies.

Most media outlets have file material of President Lagos' Visit to Singapore in April-May 2004.

Background to the Moai of Easter Island

Surrounded by mystery, Easter Island or "Te Pito O Henua" it's name in the local language, is a small island in the South Pacific Ocean about 3,760 kms off the coast of Chile, and a part of Chile since 1888. "Te Pito O Henua" literally means the "navel of the world". Its inhabitants also refer to the island as "Marakiterani", meaning the "eyes that look up to the sky" or "Rapa Nui" in modern times.

At the center of "the Mystery of Easter Island" are the "Moai", which translates as "images". Almost 1,000 of these gigantic volcanic stone statues have attracted numerous researchers attempting to gain insight into their origins and secrets. Why were they erected? Who do they represent? How were they moved? Towards what or where are they looking? Are Moai the legacy of a prehistoric civilization or, as some have philosophised, was there some extraterrestrial involvement?

The Moai that will stand in front of the APEC Secretariat building was sculpted in stone by artist Alejandro Pakarati, a native of Rapa Nui using the same techniques believed to have been used by his ancestors, and then freighted to Singapore.

Transportation of the Moai from Chile to Singapore was generously sponsored by Cia. Sudamericana de Vapores (CSAV) through arrangements by Mr. Ricardo Claro, President of the CSAV and Mrl. Alexander Tavra, Secretary General of the CSAV.



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The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Ban Ki-Moon, has outlined the priorities and theme of the 2005 APEC Year hosted by Korea.

Speaking recently to the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Santiago, Chile, Minister Ban said the APEC Korea 2005 theme of 'Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge and Make the Change,' will advance the achievements of previous APEC years. This he said would contribute to ongoing progress intended "to build one economic community in the Asia-Pacific region."

"The Korea 2005 APEC theme summarizes the strenuous will of APEC Member Economies to achieve the vision we have set for ourselves," Minister Ban said.

Particular attention will be focused on a series of themes during the Korea year that include renewing APEC's Commitment to the Bogor Goals of free trade and investment in the APEC Region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

"The 2005 Year will see APEC review its progress towards the Bogor Goals and, hopefully, identify a series of roadmaps as a result of the review," Minister Ban said.

"Exploring how to incorporate such findings into APEC's future work plan will be one of the most important elements of mid and long term APEC reform."

The 2005 APEC year will also give a high level of attention to ensuring a transparent and secure business environment and build bridges over differences in the region.

"APEC will redouble its efforts in fighting for a clean and safe economic environment in the Asia Pacific region," Minister Ban said.

"APEC Members will act in unity to strenuously fight corruption and terrorism to secure a safe trade environment throughout the region. These efforts will be based on APEC's firm belief that a safe environment will provide direct benefits to businesspeople by lowering transaction costs.

"In 2005 APEC members will also discuss ways to facilitate community building through a wide spectrum of activities to highlight both economic development and cultural diversity.

"Economic and technical co-operation with emphasis on mutual cooperation in capacity building efforts will be key to achieving our common prosperity. We may need to explore further facilitation in understanding each other beyond economic areas such as culture. This approach will eventually lower trade barriers by dismantling psychological or emotional barriers."

Other priorities for the year include ongoing APEC support for current WTO negotiations, as well as initiatives to enhance human security, share in the prosperity of the knowledge-based economy and build a better business environment for small and micro enterprises.



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The incoming Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat has sent messages of condolence on behalf of the APEC Secretariat to the people and governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. These are the three APEC Member Economies that bore the direct impact of the devastating tsunamis on December 26.

Ambassador Choi Seok Young, who will begin his post as Executive Director on January 1, said that the distress of the disaster is felt by people around the APEC region.

In the condolence letters, which have been delivered to respective authorities, Ambassador Choi commended the support that has been extended by members of the APEC community to provide help where it is needed.

"Sadly thousands have been killed from APEC Member Economies and from countries around the Asia-Pacific region," Ambassador Choi said from the APEC Secretariat in Singapore.

"Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones and our hopes are with the survivors as they deal with the aftermath of this catastrophe.

"The devastating power of the waves that struck around the Indian Ocean shocked us all.

"The APEC Member Economies of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as other areas in the region have suffered direct and substantial damage.

"We are all grateful for the community spirit that has been demonstrated by APEC Member Economies in mobilizing rapid aid and assistance efforts for the disaster areas.

"Our region is a community and is at times like these that this sense of community is most needed."



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A Moai from Easter Island now stands in front of the APEC Secretariat building in Singapore as a symbol of the community spirit in the APEC Region.

Presented to the Secretariat by President Ricardo Lagos on behalf of the people of Chile in May, the Moai was unveiled this afternoon by APEC Secretariat Executive Director, Ambassador Mario Artaza.

"The Moai represents the spirit of APEC that is dedicated to promoting the establishment of a new community in the region," Ambassador Artaza said at the unveiling ceremony.

"That is why we think that it is so appropriate that this Moai should be placed at the door of our Secretariat, as a guardian of our commitments and objectives.

"The currents of the Pacific Ocean helped the Polynesians to arrive in Eastern Island in the distant past. Today, the currents of trade bring Chilean products to distant shores in the Asia Pacific region.

"The APEC Secretariat expresses its gratitude to President Lagos and the people of Chile for this gift that now stands proudly in front of the APEC Secretariat."

In his visit to Singapore and the APEC Secretariat earlier in the year President Lagos also emphasized the growing sense of regional community in developing the theme of the 2004 APEC Year hosted by Chile of 'One Community, Our Future.'

"We wanted to underline the cultural, social, political and different developments that exist among the various economies. Nevertheless, through the Pacific Basin we thought that there was just one community where everybody is committed to some particular goals and therefore through that community, it was possible to build a better future for all of us.

Ambassador Mario Artaza is the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat in Singapore for the 2004 APEC Year. Following the successful conclusion of the Chile APEC Year Ambassador Artaza will return to Santiago in January.

The APEC Secretariat serves as the core organizational mechanism of the APEC Process by facilitating meetings, providing technical support and information services to APEC Members and fora.

Speech by Ambassador Mario Artaza, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat

Speech by Ambassador Angel Flisfisch, Chile's Ambassador to Singapore.



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Ambassador Choi Seok Young has taken up the post of Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat and circulated an open letter to APEC Senior Officials and Chairpersons of APEC fora.

In his letter Ambassador Choi expressed the Secretariat's sentiments on the recent tsunami disaster and hopes for the survivors in dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophe.

Ambassador Choi also noted his confidence in the APEC process which under the leadership of SOM Chair, Ambassador Kim Jong Hoon, will meet the challenges that have been set for the following year.

Finally Ambassador Choi cited plans that he has already initiated to review current APEC Secretariat work modalities to enable the Secretariat to "work better, smarter and more cost-efficiently" in the future.

The review plan Ambassador Choi is implementing is an important part of the APEC reform agenda of 2005 that calls for the improvement and strengthening of the Secretariat.

A copy of the letter is available on the APEC Website.



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Ambassador Choi Seok Young from the Republic of Korea has been appointed as the 13th Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. Ambassador Choi took over the position on the first of January from outgoing Executive Director Ambassador Mario Artaza form Chile to coincide with the transition of APEC Host Economies from Chile to Korea in 2005. (News Photographs of Ambassador Choi Seok Young available here)

Ambassador Choi said the tragedy of the tsunami on December 26 has meant the year is starting on a somber note.

"APEC begins 2005 with a sense of regional sadness as we come to terms with the lives lost and the extent of the destruction caused by the recent tsunami," Ambassador Choi said from the APEC Secretariat in Singapore.

"Three APEC Member Economies were in the direct path of the tsunami and citizens of several economies were killed or injured."

"As we mourned the devastation of the tsunami we are also grateful to see the response of Member Economies in mobilizing support and assistance to help those in need."

Ambassador Choi said he expects APEC 2005 to be an important year for the region with APEC poised to provide substantial input to concluding the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) round of WTO negotiations. The new Executive Director also expects 2005 to be an important year for charting the future direction of the APEC process with the Mid-term Stocktake taking place along with increased focus on trade related issues such as anti-corruption.

"We expect APEC 2005 to a year of advancing freer trade in the APEC region," Ambassador Choi said.

"APEC in Korea will seek to identify ways for greater APEC contribution to WTO DDA negotiations in the lead up to the 6th Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December

"With the extension of the DDA negotiation deadline WTO and APEC Members are entering significant phase for this process to be successfully concluded.

"The APEC Summit Week in Busan, in November will provide Leaders from Economies representing half of the world's trade with the final opportunity to provide joint political input to the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference."

"Before the Summit Week APEC Trade Ministers will also meet on Jeju Island in June for in-depth discussion on the way how APEC would contribute to the DDA progress.

"Korea will also coordinate the APEC Geneva Caucus comprising Ambassadors of APEC economies posted in Geneva to discuss details of collective APEC input."

In 2005 APEC will undertake its first stocktake of overall progress towards APEC's free trade and investment goals and then map a future course of action.

"The APEC Mid-term Stocktake has been in planning for several years and now Korea will have the honour of guiding this process over the coming year," Ambassador Choi said.

"The stocktake will include evaluations by Member Economies together with input from ongoing independent reviews of the actions undertaken by economies to reach their APEC goals.

"The Mid-term Stocktake will also receive significant review input from fora as well as stakeholders such as the APEC Business Advisory Council, the APEC Study Center Consortium and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council."

Ambassador Choi said efforts to deal with corruption and enhance good governance in the region will also be an important focus for the 2005 APEC Year hosted by Korea.

"Corruption in both the government and private sectors is one of the most serious threats to good governance and economic development in the APEC region," Ambassador Choi said.

"At their 2004 meeting in Santiago APEC Leaders endorsed the Santiago Commitment to Fight Corruption and Ensure Transparency.

"As part of this, Leaders agreed on a new APEC strategy to strengthen regional efforts to overcome corruption.

"The strategy includes the establishment of the APEC Anticorruption and Transparency Capacity-building Program that will enable Member Economies to develop policy and legislation to fight corruption.

"In March APEC Senior Officials will finalize the terms of reference for a new APEC Anti-Corruption Experts' Task Force. The Task Force is expected to guide the implementation of APEC's governance and anti-Corruption commitments around the region.

"Korea will also host a high level APEC anti-corruption symposium in Gyeongju, Korea, in September as part of efforts to combat corruption in the Asia-Pacific."

APEC Leaders and Ministerial Meeting Dates

APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade, Jeju, Korea 02-03 June

Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting, Daegu, Korea, 02-03 September

Finance Ministers Meeting, Jeju, Korea, 08-09 September

Joint Ministerial Meeting Busan, Korea 15-16 November

Economic Leaders' Meeting Busan, Korea 18-19 November



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Korea is now the official host of the APEC process for the next twelve months and preparations for Viet Nam to host APEC in 2006 have moved a step closer with new directors appointed to lead the APEC Secretariat in Singapore.

The new Executive Director is Ambassador Choi Seok Young from the Republic of Korea and the Deputy Executive Director is Ambassador Tran Trong Toan from Viet Nam. Ambassador Toan will be the Executive Director when Viet Nam takes over as Chair of the APEC host in 2006.

Ambassador Choi said the post of Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat is an honour and a challenge that each member economy undertakes during their APEC year.

"As the Chair of the APEC process in 2005 Korea will serve all APEC Members with pride and best intentions," Ambassador Choi said.

"In 2005 Korea will have the opportunity to showcase our experience in making the transition from developing to developed economy in a short period of time.

"As APEC Host Economy in 2005 Korea also has the responsibility of preparing for the handover of responsibilities at the end of the year to Viet Nam.

"Like Korea, Viet Nam will receive Leaders, Ministers and their representatives as well as thousands of delegates and international media when they host APEC in 2006. This exposure will increase knowledge about Viet Nam's culture, economic development and investment opportunities.

"We will ensure that as we progress through the Korea APEC Year, what we learn will be passed to our friends in Viet Nam to ensure the success of APEC 2006.

"I look forward to working with my counterparts from Viet Nam throughout the year. In particular I will have the opportunity to work with Ambassador Toan who will be the 2005 Deputy Executive Director.

"Ambassador Toan is a very experienced diplomat and a fountain of knowledge on multilateral trade issues."

Ambassador Toan, who will arrive in Singapore in early January, said that he looks forward to working with Ambassador Choi to ensure the ongoing success of the APEC process.

"Viet Nam and Korea have pledged to work together with Korea offering to provide advice and cooperation in preparing for APEC 2006 in Viet Nam," Ambassador Toan said from his Hanoi office.

"We look forward to productive APEC years in Korea this year and Viet Nam in 2006.

"As host of APEC 2006 Viet Nam is ready to do whatever it can to be a bridge linking Viet Nam with the rest of the APEC Region."

Ambassador Toan said that for Viet Nam, APEC Membership has delivered tangible benefits relating to increasing trade and building domestic skill levels.

"Viet Nam joined APEC in 1998 and this membership has enhanced Viet Nam's position in the region and paved the way for early accession to the World Trade Organization," Ambassador Toan said.

"Hosting APEC 2006 is another important opportunity for Viet Nam to highlight its ongoing success in opening its foreign policy by stressing multilateralisation and diversification.

"There have also been numerous APEC sponsored economic and technical cooperation programs initiated in Viet Nam that have given us wider access to new technologies and human resource development.

"As well as participation in economic and trade initiatives, Viet Nam has actively participated in social activities sponsored by APEC that are intended to assist women, youth and the disabled."

Ambassador Toan said that Viet Nam has the benefit of experience in hosting past major international events including Francophone Summit in 1997, the sixth Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1998 and the Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting in 2004.



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An "APEC Symposium in Response to Outbreaks of Avian Influenza and Preparedness for a Human Health Emergency" is being planned by a Steering Committee composed of APEC member economies through the APEC Health Task Force.

The Steering Committee was chaired by Dr. Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Lambert said the seminar, planned for July in San Francisco, will bring together policy makers and sectoral experts to develop appropriate response mechanisms to deal with cross-border disease outbreaks such as Avian Influenza.

"We hope the symposium will build support across sectors, including agriculture, health, trade, tourism and finance, for the infrastructure development necessary to respond to the disease in affected economies," said Dr. Lambert.

"APEC provides an excellent forum to help to recognize the multi-sectoral dimensions that surround avian influenza and the difficulties in addressing the disease within each economy.

"Input from international organizations such as the WHO, FAO and the OIE also offer invaluable insight into this discussion."

In preparation for the multi-sector symposium, a Steering Committee comprised of APEC member economies convened in Singapore at the APEC Secretariat on January 26-27 to discuss the objectives and agenda for the event.

The Steering Committee was comprised of agricultural and health officials from China, Hong Kong China, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, the United States, and Vietnam.

Representatives from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) participated in planning for the symposium. Participation will also be discussed with the World Animal Health Organization (OIE).

The symposium is being sponsored by the United States and co-sponsored by Hong Kong China and Chinese Taipei. The event will address the impacts and challenges presented by avian influenza in affected economies from a multi-sector perspective, and recommend to Senior Officials further measures based on the outcomes of the symposium.

APEC Leaders and Ministers have called on the Health Task Force to address increased cooperation in responding to the threats presented by infectious diseases, including avian influenza, in recent years.



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Preparations are underway to extend full logistical support facilities to news organizations covering the annual APEC Ministers', Leaders' and other associated Meetings in Busan, Korea, on 12 - 19 November.

The Department of Media and Communication from the Preparatory Office for APEC 2005 has released the following media information:

International Media Center (IMC)

International Media Center equipped with facilities supporting media coverage during the week of the APEC Leaders' and Ministers' Meetings will be set up on the 1st floor at the third exhibition hall of the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO) in an area covering 8600m².

The IMC will be in operation from 12 - 20 November.
Host Broadcaster

Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) is designated as host broadcaster for the 2005 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

KBS will provide broadcasters worldwide with high-quality services related to 2005 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, as well as manage the International Broadcasting Center which will be set up at the International Media Center.

Additional information related to broadcasting service will be provided through the host broadcaster at a later date.

Accreditation

Media covering APEC Meetings taking place in Korea should register online at the Korea 2005 Website. 
http://211.115.223.87:8000/apec2005/servlet/ACRRegisterSV?kind=ACRINPUT_PRESS.

Programme

The meeting schedule for November is as follows:

Dates                        Meeting

12-13 November        APEC Concluding Senior Officials Meeting 
14-16 November        4th 2005 Meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council 
15-16 November        APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting 
17-19 November        APEC CEO Summit 
18 November             Investment Environment Seminar 
18-19 November        APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting 
19 November             Investment Environment Symposium



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The APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism (AICST) has proposed a series of measures to assist regional tourism operators to recover from the damage caused by the recent tsunami.

The AICST measures that were presented to the Post-Tsunami Emergency Task Force Meeting are also intended to increase the capacity of regional tourism operators to deal with future crises.

Following the meeting AICST Executive Director, Mr. Ian Kean, said that Governments and the tourism industry must learn from the tragic Boxing Day Tsunami.

"The extent of this disaster on tourism was previously unimaginable and the outcomes and experiences from it need to be studied so that we can be smarter in the future," Mr. Kean said.

"AICST is prepared to contribute to the work of the task force through the development of enhanced risk management procedures for crisis management for regional tourist destinations.

"This will build on the 2004 Tourism Risk Management report undertaken by AICST in partnership with the WTO and PATA, to include lessons learnt from the tsunami disaster. AICST can develop materials in a range of languages for use in training workshops for government and industry representatives.

"AICST can also contribute research resources to provide new information to enhance preparedness and management in the event of future crises."

The Post-Tsunami Emergency Task Force Meeting was organized by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) working with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and AICST to develop a course of action for the recovery of tourism following the tsunami disaster.

The Technical meeting of the Task Force took place in Phuket, Thailand on the 31st January and was attended by 150 people from government, non-government and private tourism organisations. The Task Force Meeting was followed by an emergency meeting of the World Tourism Organization Executive Council on 1 February.

The Emergency Meeting of the WTO Executive Council, with AICST and PATA as observers, adopted the 'Phuket Action Plan' covering a range of activities under five operational goals:

Marketing and communications

Community relief

Professional training

Sustainable redevelopment

Risk Management

Additional details on the "Phuket Action Plan" are available on the WTO Website: http://www.world-tourism.org/tsunami/eng.html

Information is also available on the Indian Ocean Recovery News page of the PATA Website: http://www.pata.org/patasite/index.php?id=1112

The presentation by Ian Kean to the Post Tsunami Emergency Task Force Meeting is available on the APEC Website.



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Government ministers responsible for the Small and Medium Enterprises sector will meet in Santiago Chile today and tomorrow to address issues affecting the growth and sustainability of the small business sector.

Among the issues on the agenda at the 11th Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting will be two separate proposals that are intended to strengthen the operations of both SMEs and smaller Micro Enterprises.

It is anticipated that the first proposal, the APEC Agenda for Entrepreneurship, will consider the environment in which SMEs operate and seek to identify collaborative ways for the government and SMEs to work together.

The second proposal, the APEC Micro Enterprise Action Plan, will cover areas of financial options that are open to micro enterprises. Many of these micro enterprises, that typically operate with only one or two people, are run by women people from other groups that in some areas face disadvantage.

Other issues on the agenda include an APEC initiative to expand the common use of English and other languages for cross-border SME trade, the impact of security initiatives on SME trade and reviews of recent SME projects undertaken in APEC Member Economies.

The APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting is an annual event on the APEC calendar. Outcomes from the meeting make a significant contribution to the planning of policy affecting the operations of SMEs and Micro Enterprises in the region.

The meeting will be chaired by Chile's Minister for Economy, Mr. Jorge Rodriguez, and take place at Espacio Riesco Convention Centre on October 6-7.

A News Conference will take place at the Espacio Riesco Convention Centre on Thursday, October 7, at 17:15 Santiago time. This news conference is expected to be Webcast via the APEC Secretariat Website soon after the conclusion of the news conference.

The last APEC SME Ministers' Meeting was held in Phuket, Thailand, in 2003.

Following this meeting the next ministerial event on the APEC Calendar is the APEC Tourism Ministers' Meeting that will be held in Punta Arenas, Chile, on October 12-15.



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APEC Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ministers have committed to enhance regional support to advance the business environment of Micro-enterprises. The Joint Ministerial Statement is now available online. At the 11th APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting in Santiago, Chile, on October 6-7, Ministers also endorsed the Santiago Agenda on Entrepreneurshipthat is aimed at preventing market failures and removing barriers to SME growth.

This year's SME Ministers' Meeting also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the role of micro-enterprises in the APEC region.
Ministers acknowledged that while Micro-enterprises are often run by sole traders and rarely employ more than one or two workers, these businesses make a sizeable contribution to the regional economic output.

To further encourage Micro-enterprise development Ministers have highlighted the importance of ensuring a sound regulatory environment for Micro-enterprises. They also called on economies to share information and to contribute to an inventory of best practices relating to Micro-enterprise development.

Ministers instructed the APEC Micro-enterprise Sub Group to open a dialogue with regional International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to advance joint initiatives to specifically benefit Micro-enterprises. The first dialogue has been scheduled for 2005 in Korea.

To strengthen this interaction with IFIs in support of Micro-enterprise development, Viet Nam has agreed to undertake a project to better quantify the contributions of IFIs and other international organizations in building the capacity of the ME sector.

The endorsement of the Santiago Agenda on Entrepreneurship is a major outcome from the Ministers' Meeting. The Agenda recognizes specific factors that allow SMEs to flourish including a legal and policy environment conducive to SME development, and the removal of barriers that impede SME growth.

Among the factors cited by ministers as essential to facilitating a stable and healthy SME business environment are stable macro and microeconomic policies that are business-friendly, legal and governance systems that uphold the rule of law, and a regulatory framework that is facilitative of sustainable business growth.

Another issue before the Ministerial Meeting was the call for greater emphasis on expanding trade through the use of English and other common language to better deal with the effects of globalization. Ministers requested that officials cooperate with the APEC Education Network to identify actions for the development of a Strategic Plan for English and other Languages in the APEC Region.

The next SME Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to take place in Daegu, Korea, on September 2-3, 2005, with the theme of "Promoting Innovation of SMEs." The theme recognizes the relevance of innovation in the SME sector for responding to a fast changing international business environment.



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A Webcast of the News Conference hosted by Jorge Rodriguez, Chile's Minister for Economy and Chairman of the SME Ministerial, following the 11th Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Ministers' Meeting is now available. The Ministerial Meeting was held in Santiago on October 6-7.

The News Conference was held in Spanish so the following Webcast is with the voice of the English speaking translator.

The Webcast is separated into three parts:

Summary by Minister Jorge Rodriguez
56 Kbps Video
56 Kbps Audio

Comments by Consuelo Payat-Reyes, Ambassador of the Philippines in Chile
56 Kbps Video
56 Kbps Audio

Summary by Minister Jorge Rodriguez
56 Kbps Video
56 Kbps Audio



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