The Auckland Challenge: APEC leaders' declaration<\/p>\n
The following is a full text of the Asia-Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) forum leaders' declaration, headlined The
\nAuckland Challenge, released at the completion of the APEC summit
\nin Auckland on Monday.<\/p>\n
AUCKLAND (Reuters): We, the Economic Leaders of APEC,
\ncelebrate here in Auckland 10 years of unprecedented cooperation
\nin our region, in pursuit of a vision of stability, security and
\nprosperity for our peoples. We shall continue to exercise
\nleadership to reach our goals and to meet the challenge we have
\nset ourselves.<\/p>\n
We welcome the improved performance and prospects of our
\neconomies since we last met, and commend the actions taken to
\nreform those economies affected by the crisis.<\/p>\n
The cooperative growth strategy we adopted in Kuala Lumpur,
\nand sound macroeconomic policies in key economies, have supported
\nthe restoration of confidence and growth, and have allowed us to
\nshare growing confidence about our prospects.<\/p>\n
We are not complacent about the risks that might impede
\nrecovery and sustainable growth and we will sustain the momentum
\nfor reform. Continued multilateral and bilateral support is still
\nimportant. We welcome and endorse the efforts of Ministers
\nthrough the year in pursuit of APEC's goals.<\/p>\n
As Leaders, we accept responsibility for resisting
\nprotectionism, opening markets further, and addressing structural
\nand regulatory weaknesses that contributed to the economic
\ndownturn from 1997. We will achieve this by strengthening our
\nmarkets through regulatory reform and enhanced competition and by
\nimproving the international framework governing trade and
\ninvestment flows. To this end we commit to the launch of a new
\nRound of negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO).<\/p>\n
All people in our communities have a stake in the success of
\nAPEC. We want to ensure they achieve their full potential for
\nimproved economic and social well being. We particularly welcome
\nthe more active participation of women and business in APEC's
\nwork this year.<\/p>\n
Supporting Growth through Strong and Open Markets<\/p>\n
Improved competitiveness through ongoing reform is the road to
\nrecovery and sustainable growth. Through APEC, we seek to expand
\nopportunities for business and employment growth, build strong
\nand open markets and ensure that our communities and economies
\ncan participate successfully in the international economy. Open,
\ntransparent and well-governed markets, both domestic and
\ninternational, are the essential foundation of prosperity and
\nenable enterprises to innovate and create wealth.<\/p>\n
We will strengthen our markets by:<\/p>\n
-- providing greater transparency and predictably in corporate
\narid public sector governance<\/p>\n
-- enhancing the role of competition to improve efficiency and
\nbroaden participation by enterprises<\/p>\n
-- improving the quality of regulation and the capacity of
\nregulators to design and implement policies for sustainable
\ngrowth<\/p>\n
-- reducing compliance costs and facilitating business growth<\/p>\n
-- building a favorable regional and international environment
\nfor free and fair competition<\/p>\n
In reconfirming our commitment to achieve the Bogor Goals of
\nfree and open trade and investment by 2010\/2020, we endorse the
\nattached APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory
\nReform. These principles provide a core part of the framework for
\nstrengthening our markets which will better integrate individual
\nand collective actions by APEC economies to achieve those goals.<\/p>\n
We accept Ministers' proposals for an initial work program to
\nstrengthen markets. This gives priorities to strengthening market
\ninfrastructure and human capacity in our economies and
\nenterprises, especially in developing economies.<\/p>\n
It also calls for specific implementation strategies in areas
\nsuch as natural gas and e-commerce. We call upon the private
\nsector, including the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and
\nthe APEC Financiers' Group, to contribute to these efforts.<\/p>\n
We welcome and endorse the work of our Finance Ministers, and
\nencourage their efforts to strengthen domestic financial markets
\nand secure the foundation for the return of capital to the region
\nby:<\/p>\n
-- enhanced supervision of financial markets, including
\nthrough improved training of supervisors and regulators<\/p>\n
-- developing domestic bond markets based on the just
\npublished Compendium of Sound Practices<\/p>\n
-- developing and applying agreed corporate governance
\nprinciples.<\/p>\n
The alignment of the APEC Finance Ministers' process with the
\nAPEC Leaders' process offers new opportunities for cooperation.
\nWe instruct our Ministers to pursue greater links among APEC
\nforum and their work programs. We look forward to receiving a
\nreport from Finance Ministers of further progress in dealing with
\nfinancial market issues when we next meet.<\/p>\n
We reaffirm that individual actions by economies are the
\nprincipal means by which APEC's goal will be attained. We
\nacknowledge that progress towards the Bogor Goals has been
\nuneven, and undertake to continue concrete actions to fulfill our
\ncommitment. We also accept the views of ABAC and other business
\nrepresentatives who have called for action plans to be more
\nspecific, transparent and comprehensive, and welcome the
\ninitiative by Ministers to review and strengthen processes for
\nindividual and collective actions under the Osaka Action Agenda.<\/p>\n
APEC's trade facilitation programs are already delivering
\nsubstantial benefits -- in customs harmonization, standards and
\nconformance, and increased mobility of business people.<\/p>\n
We welcome the agreed new initiatives, and instruct Ministers
\nto give priority to this work next year, in consultation with
\nbusiness, and to better communicate the value of APEC's trade
\nfacilitation role.<\/p>\n
Enhanced economic and technical cooperation is essential if we
\nare to lift our peoples into prosperity, and narrow the
\ndevelopment gap among Asia\/Pacific economies. The financial
\ncrisis has underlined the importance of cooperation in human and
\ninstitutional capacity building, science and technology exchanges
\nand development of infrastructure. We direct our Ministers to
\ngive special attention in the coming year to improving effective
\nand coordinated delivery of APEC's Ecotech and capacity building
\nprograms, in accordance with the Manila Declaration.<\/p>\n
We welcome Ministers' report on the APEC Food System proposed
\nby the ABAC, and endorse its recommendations on the development
\nof rural infrastructure, dissemination of technological advances
\nin food production and processing, and promotion of trade in food
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
A robust regional food system that efficiently links food
\nproduction, food processing and consumption, is a vital
\ncontribution to meeting the objectives of APEC. We instruct
\nMinisters to implement the recommendations, taking into account
\nABAC's submission this year, and monitor annually progress
\ntowards achieving the APEC Food System.<\/p>\n
We recognize the key role that electronic commerce will play
\nin linking our economies. APEC must continue its efforts to
\ncreate a favorable environment for e-commerce in cooperation with
\nthe private sector.<\/p>\n
In a little over 100 days, APEC economies will face the
\nchallenges and risks of the century date change. Intense
\nactivities in economies and throughout the region have lessened
\nrisks but more cooperative planning must occur. We recognize that
\nglobal interdependence means we must continue our efforts to
\nprepare, accelerate cross-border contingency planning, and
\nenhance transparency about readiness as a matter of the highest
\npriority. We adopt the APEC Y2K 100 Days Cooperation Initiative
\nto intensify cooperation for responding to potential Y2K events.
\nWe agree to share information and expertise about Y2K impacts on
\ncritical infrastructures during and after the date change.<\/p>\n
APEC in the Global Economy<\/p>\n
APEC will continue to play a leadership role in strengthening
\nthe global economy, especially the multilateral trading system.<\/p>\n
Strong financial systems are fundamental to achieving robust,
\nopen and growing economies. We welcome the report from our
\nFinance Ministers on developments in strengthening the
\ninternational finance architecture and are encouraged by the
\nprogress made. The establishment of the Financial Stability Forum
\nand the new informal mechanism to enhance dialogue among the
\nsystematically important economies should advance cooperation on
\nstrengthening the international financial system.<\/p>\n
We support ongoing efforts to improve crisis prevention and
\ncrisis resolution, and urge prompt action to improve transparency
\nof highly leveraged institutions. We also support the developing
\nconsensus on the need to ensure that reforms of the international
\nfinancial system, and domestic financial markets, are mutually
\nreinforcing. APEC's diverse membership provides a special
\ncontribution to discussions on domestic and international
\nfinancial reforms. In respect of both the public and private
\nsectors, APEC advocates:<\/p>\n
-- greater transparency and openness including improved
\nreliability and timeliness of information<\/p>\n
-- clearer accountability for decisions and judgments.<\/p>\n
This year, APEC has a unique opportunity to give impetus to
\ndeliberations in the WTO. We will give the strongest possible
\nsupport at Seattle to the launch of a new Round of multilateral
\nnegotiations within the WTO, and endorse the positions adopted by
\nMinisters. We recognize the need to build public confidence in
\nthis process and to improve coordination on trade related matters
\namong relevant international organizations. We agree on the
\nimportance of ensuring full implementation of existing WTO
\nagreements. We see continued growth in international trade and
\ninvestment as the best means of achieving prosperity and
\nsecurity.<\/p>\n
In particular, we agree that the new Round should:<\/p>\n
-- include comprehensive market access negotiations covering
\nindustrial tariffs in addition to the already mandated
\nnegotiations on services and agriculture<\/p>\n
-- lead to timely and effective improvements in market access
\nto the benefit of all participating economies, particularly
\ndeveloping economies and, consistent with this objective, provide
\nscope to review and strengthen rules and disciplines<\/p>\n
-- have a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda and be
\nconcluded within three years as a single package which does not
\npreclude the possibility of early results on a provisional basis.<\/p>\n
We support, as one of the important objectives of the
\nnegotiations on agriculture, the abolition of agricultural export
\nsubsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions and restrictions.<\/p>\n
We call on all WTO members to join us at Seattle in a
\ncommitment not to impose new or more restrictive trade measures
\nfor the duration of the negotiations, as applied during the
\nUruguay Round. We pledge not to impose any such measures before
\nthe Seattle WTO Ministerial meeting.<\/p>\n
Support for ongoing WTO negotiations will remain a key area of
\nAPEC's work throughout those negotiations. In particular we
\nresolve to work actively in the negotiations to ensure that APEC
\nand WTO are mutually reinforcing. To respond fully to the
\nchallenges and opportunities of today's interdependent world for
\nthe benefit of all our peoples and to avoid fragmentation of the
\ninternational trading system, we need to ensure convergence
\nbetween regional and multilateral liberalization initiatives.<\/p>\n
In order to achieve universality of membership, we also seek
\nearly progress in the accession negotiations to the WTO,
\nincluding for those APEC economies that are not yet WTO members.
\nWe issue a strong call for these accession negotiations to be
\nconcluded at the earliest opportunity, if possible prior to
\ncommencement of the new WTO negotiations.<\/p>\n
Participation in Prosperity<\/p>\n
As Leaders, we recognize our responsibilities to ensure full
\nand successful participation by all of our populations in the
\nmodern economy. Technological change has irreversibly integrated
\nglobal markets for goods and services, and finance.<\/p>\n
The effective development and application of knowledge will be
\na key driver of future economic success, and we pledge to ensure
\nthat APEC economies are to the forefront of building and sharing
\ntheir expertise in this vital sector.<\/p>\n
Cooperation in such fields as e-education, science and
\ntechnology and life-long skills development should be
\nstrengthened. Globalization must become an opportunity for all.<\/p>\n
We commit to ensuring that APEC takes a leading role in
\nenabling developing economies to participate successfully in the
\nglobal economy, through enhancing human and institutional
\ncapacities and progressively opening markets.<\/p>\n
We recognize that income and wealth disparities between and
\nwithin economies can pose a challenge for social stability.
\nAppropriate social safety nets play a role in facilitating
\neconomic and social adjustment. We welcome efforts by APEC
\neconomies, and other institutions, to address social safety net
\nissues, and encourage further efforts to maintain employment and
\nenvironmentally sustainable growth.<\/p>\n
In that regard, we welcome the outcomes of the Human Resources
\nDevelopment and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial
\nMeetings. APEC economies will pursue enhanced dialogue and
\ncontinue to seek policy approaches that encourage inclusion and
\neconomic advancement, as well as initiative and innovation.<\/p>\n
We welcome the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC,
\nwhich is a significant step to enhance the ability of women to
\ncontribute to and benefit from prosperity of the region. We shall
\nreview implementation of the Framework when we next meet.<\/p>\n
In 1999, we have enhanced opportunities for business,
\nespecially smaller enterprises, to make their views known in
\nAPEC. Those views are of keen interest to us. Further dialogue
\nwith the private sector, at all levels, is essential to maintain
\nthe dynamism and relevance of APEC. We also look to the private
\nsector for support for reform.<\/p>\n
Once again, we welcome the recommendations from the ABAC, and
\nthank members of the Council for their contribution in areas such
\nas capacity building, finance, food, e-commerce and air services.<\/p>\n
We instruct Ministers to take the ABAC recommendations into
\naccount during their work in 2000. We support implementation of
\nthe eight steps for more competitive air services, and the
\nidentification of further steps to liberalize air services in
\naccordance with the Bogor Goals. Tourism and air services have a
\nlarge contribution to make to development and community building
\nin the region.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/p>\n
As Leaders, we recognize that our role in APEC, as in our own
\neconomies, is to set the course which will allow for sustainable
\ndevelopment and which will deliver a strong social dividend to
\ntheir populations. We acknowledge that economic adjustments may
\nbe difficult, and that there is social cost which must be
\nreduced. But we are united in our belief that the path to
\nincreased prosperity requires continual reform and adjustment of
\nour policies and outlook. An open regional framework, within
\nwhich competition and cooperation flourish, is the best means of
\nbuilding a prosperous future together. We embark on APEC's second
\ndecade confident that a deepening and enduring spirit of
\nopenness, partnership and community is being built. The challenge
\nwe collectively face is to maintain our momentum and deliver on
\nour commitment. We accept the challenge.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-auckland-challenge-apec-leaders-declaration-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}