APEC officials discuss ways to advance free trade plan<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): Senior officials from economies
\nbordering the Pacific rim kicked off a series of meetings
\nSaturday with the daunting task of advancing free trade and
\ninvestment following a setback in liberalization efforts on the
\nglobal stage.<\/p>\n
Brunei is host of this year's meetings of the Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum culminating in a leader's
\nsummit in the tiny oil-rich Borneo state's capital Bandar Seri
\nBegawan in November.<\/p>\n
Officials from the 21 APEC economies gathered at the Belalong
\nNational Park, a lush tropical forest, will spend the weekend
\ndeliberating issues ranging from lifting trade barriers to
\nenhancing economic cooperation.<\/p>\n
\"The jungles of Brunei will be a perfect setting for the
\nsenior officials to start work for the year,\" said Lim Jock Seng,
\na senior Brunei government official chairing the talks.<\/p>\n
\"We are aware of our heavy responsibility,\" he said.<\/p>\n
With Asian economies now back on the growth path after being
\nderailed by the regional financial crisis which struck in mid-
\n1997, Brunei's job as chair is to consolidate efforts to
\nstrengthen the economic recovery.<\/p>\n
\"I said that because there is no room for complacency,\" said
\nLim, the permanent secretary of Brunei's foreign ministry.<\/p>\n
APEC leaders in Auckland last year committed to a fast-tracked
\ntariff liberalization program which they hoped would receive a
\nsignificant boost from the launch of a new round of global trade
\nnegotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial
\nmeeting in Seattle in December.<\/p>\n
As the WTO talks failed to make a breakthrough, APEC economies
\nwill have to ensure their proposed accelerated tariff
\nliberalization program is not put on the backburner.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the WTO got moving again in Geneva with the
\nannouncement of negotiations from the fourth week of February to
\nfurther liberalize trade in agriculture and services.<\/p>\n
APEC's 21 member economies had a combined gross domestic
\nproduct of 16 trillion US dollars in 1998 and accounted for 42
\npercent of global trade.<\/p>\n
Brunei wants to make APEC relevant to businesses, particularly
\nto small and medium-scale industries, and strengthen programs to
\nboost electronic commerce and information technology
\ninfrastructure in the region.<\/p>\n
Lim said a key challenge that could prove unsettling for
\ndeveloping member economies of APEC was adopting technology in
\ninformation and communications.<\/p>\n
\"The pace of change fueled by the rapid development in
\ntechnology ... can however, be unsettling for many. It can also
\noffer a new route to a new era of economic prosperity.<\/p>\n
\"Our cooperation in APEC therefore, must focus on bringing
\nabout the opportunities for all in the region,\" Lim said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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