APEC leaders vow to settle crisis<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat and Kornelius Purba<\/p>\n
VANCOUVER, Canada (JP): Leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) ended their meeting Tuesday with a strong
\nunited message of confidence and commitment to do whatever it
\ntakes to overcome the financial crisis gripping the region.<\/p>\n
\"We gather here to secure the stability and growth in our
\nregion,\" said Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien after
\nchairing the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"The Asia Pacific region is undergoing a challenging period of
\nfinancial uncertainty. We stand ready to do our part to restore
\nconfidence and security in our economy.<\/p>\n
\"We recognize the primacy of prudent and transparent policies,
\nparticularly sound macroeconomic and structural policies, human
\nresources development strategies and effective financial sector
\nregulation in addressing situations of this kind,\" he added.<\/p>\n
In a 21-point communique titled APEC Economic Leaders'
\nDeclaration: Connecting the APEC Community, they noted that the
\nAPEC forum is \"particularly well suited\" in helping to foster
\nappropriate policies and dialog.<\/p>\n
Leaders attending the meeting Tuesday were Australia's John
\nHoward, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Canada's Jean Chretien,
\nChilean Eduardo Frei, China's Jiang Zemin, Hong Kong's Tung Chee-
\nHwa, Indonesia's Soeharto, Japan's Ryutaro Hashimoto, Korea's Kim
\nYoung-sam, Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, Mexico's Ernesto Zedillo,
\nNew Zealand's Jim Bolger, Papua New Guinea's Bill Skate, the
\nPhilippines's Fidel Ramos, Singapore's Goh Chok Tong, Taiwan's
\nKoo Chen-fu, Thailand's Chuan Leepkai and United States' Bill
\nClinton.<\/p>\n
The financial crisis occupied most of Tuesday's leaders'
\nretreat at the Museum of Anthropology on the grounds of the
\nUniversity of British Columbia campus.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a \"V\" shaped formation with large totem poles to
\nthe left and right of them, each of the leaders expressed their
\nviews during the three-hour morning session and the primacy of
\nthe International Monetary Fund as the institution to deal with
\nthe crisis.<\/p>\n
An official said one of the most \"galvanizing\" moments of the
\nmeeting was Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo's account of his
\ncountry's experience in overcoming such a crisis.<\/p>\n
Zedillo said sound macroeconomic policies must be taken to
\ncorrect imbalances. Countries also needed to deal directly with
\nthe weaknesses of the banking system and obtain external
\nfinancing to support adjustment, not as a way to avoid
\nadjustment.<\/p>\n
Zedillo warned that there was no way to protect the economy
\nfrom the pain and that it was important to reveal the truth about
\nthe situation.<\/p>\n
United States assistant to the president for international
\ntrade, Dan Tarullo, said that during the meeting Thailand's Prime
\nMinister Chuan Leekpai and Indonesia's President Soeharto
\nreaffirmed their intention to faithfully implement the terms of
\nthe International Monetary Fund's standby loan arrangements.<\/p>\n
Responding to calls from his colleagues for sustained U.S.
\ninvolvement, President Clinton said he would convene a meeting of
\nfinance ministers to try and move the process along further.<\/p>\n
No time or even who would be invited to such a meeting was
\ngiven.<\/p>\n
In their declaration, the leaders' also approved a framework
\nfor enhanced public-private partnerships in infrastructure
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
The framework affirmed voluntary principles for facilitating
\nprivate sector participation in infrastructure by establishing a
\nsound macroeconomic environment, a transparent legal framework
\nand increasing the availability of long-term capital.<\/p>\n
During an afternoon break, leaders' donned their uniform brown
\nleather jackets and braved the chilly weather for a photo outside
\nthe museum.<\/p>\n
Leaders also discussed environmental issues, including the
\nupcoming environmental conference in Japan.<\/p>\n
The meeting's chair Jean Chretien said social issues were
\ngiven more focus in the meetings.<\/p>\n
\"While cooperation between governments is the hallmark of
\nAPEC, we must also continue to consolidate our partnership with
\nother sectors of society and to invest in people in the region,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that people in the region remain APEC's greatest
\nasset. As leaders we are responsible for their well-being. Our
\npeople are the foundation on which the APEC community is built.
\nWe have committed ourselves that APEC remains responsive to their
\nconcerns,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Leaders further supported a proposal to liberalize trade in
\nnine key sectors in 1999 and urged the successful conclusion of
\nnegotiations under the World Trade Organization on the financial
\nservices markets by Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, President Soeharto was satisfied yesterday with the
\noutcome of the APEC leaders meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs
\nAli Alatas said in a joint press conference with Minister\/State
\nSecretary Moerdiono during the flight which took Soeharto and his
\nentourage to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said the President had conveyed his ideas to the
\nother leaders, including the need to set up a special fund
\nmechanism to supplement the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n
Soeharto's emergency fund idea has been included in the AELM
\nDeclaration which endorses the adoption of new IMF mechanisms on
\na cooperative financing arrangement to supplement IMF resources.<\/p>\n
Garuda's special flight stopped over in Zurich for one hour
\nfor refueling before continuing to Saudi Arabia where Soeharto
\nplans to perform umrah, Moslem minor pilgrimage, with his
\nchildren and grandchildren.<\/p>\n
According to Moerdiono, APEC leaders asked U.S. President Bill
\nClinton to chair the APEC finance ministers' meeting to discuss
\nthe monetary crisis and possible solutions.<\/p>\n
Editorial -- Page 4<\/p>\n
Text -- Page 5<\/p>\n
Members -- Page 16<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-leaders-vow-to-settle-crisis-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }