Commitment will save APEC, says Keating<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating
\nwarned yesterday that unless Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) countries submitted positive free-trade action plans at
\nthe upcoming APEC ministerial meeting, the group would lose its
\ncredibility.<\/p>\n
\"Unless the individual action plans submitted in Manila are
\nambitious and reflect a genuine will on the part of the APEC
\ngovernments to live up to their Bogor commitments, unless the
\nleaders address the most serious problems facing the region, APEC
\nwill begin to lose credibility,\" Keating said.<\/p>\n
He was addressing the 27th congress of the International
\nAssociation of Financial Executives Institutes here on
\nglobalization, regionalism and policy challenges for the Asia
\nPacific region.<\/p>\n
The 18 APEC countries must submit their individual action
\nplans, detailing measures to reduce trade and investment
\nbarriers, at the APEC ministerial meeting in Manila later this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
At the APEC Bogor summit here in 1994, APEC leaders agreed to
\nremove trade and tariff barriers in the Asia Pacific region by
\n2010 for developed countries and 2020 for developing countries.<\/p>\n
Keating said if the Manila meeting failed to comply with the
\ncommitments on free trade made in Bogor, APEC would lose its
\nability to influence the World Trade Organization ministerial
\nmeeting in Singapore in December.<\/p>\n
Keating, an architect of APEC, said APEC could also fail if it
\nexpanded its membership.<\/p>\n
\"I want to be quite clear about this. In my view we will lose
\nAPEC if the membership expands now, or if it ever expands too
\nmuch,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Diffuse<\/p>\n
He said if APEC expanded it would lose its potential because
\nits agenda would become too diffuse, and that its focus on links
\nbetween East Asia and North America would be lost. He said that
\nAPEC would then conveniently split into separate sub-groups.<\/p>\n
\"With 18 participants now, the leaders forum is already near
\nthe maximum possible for free interchange. With larger numbers,
\nthe meetings will become proforma discussions with preordained
\noutcomes. Leaders will over time, and quite a short time at that,
\nlose their motivation for meeting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
APEC's underlying purpose is simple but deeply important,
\nKeating said: \"It is, first, to help create the conditions which
\nwill enable Asia Pacific countries to continue to develop
\neconomically.\"<\/p>\n
Its second purpose, he said, was to help its members deal with
\nthe consequences of that development. The third purpose was to
\nmaintain peace and security in East Asia, in part by helping to
\nprevent a split between North America and East Asia.<\/p>\n
Keating was replaced by Prime Minister John Howard when the
\nLabor Party lost Australia's March elections. (bnt)<\/p>",
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