Agenda set for APEC ministers' talks

JAKARTA (JP): The sixth ministerial meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which will be held here on Nov. 11 and Nov. 12, will discuss regular as well as new agenda items, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said yesterday.

In a joint press conference with Coordinating Minister for Trade and Industry Hartarto, Alatas explained yesterday that the regular agenda will include economic trends and issues, progress reports from working groups, issues in trade and investment, as well as organizational matters.

Alatas said materials for the discussion of economic trends and issues will be provided by an ad hoc committee, which will convene here on Nov. 5. The materials on the issues of trade and investment will be provided by a committee which will convene here on Nov. 6 and 7.

"If a consensus can be reached, we will also discuss non- binding investment principles," Alatas told the press conference, held after the limited cabinet session on economic affairs.

In addition to the regular agenda, the six ministerial meetings will also discuss reports from the APEC's Eminent Persons Group and the Pacific Business Forum, which have been distributed to the leaders of the APEC economies by President Soeharto.

Last August, the Eminent Persons Group urged APEC members to liberalize trade and investment in the region by 2020, while last month the Pacific Business Forum recommended free trade in the region 10 years earlier, or by 2010.

Other new topics to be discussed in the meeting are those related to the problems faced by developing countries, which will be set forth by the Indonesian government as the host.

The topics are human resources development, basic infrastructure, the promotion of small-scale and medium-sized businesses, as well as the private sector.

Alatas said the meeting might also discuss the possibility of other economies outside of APEC taking part in the APEC meetings either as observers or guests.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Chile will be admitted officially as the 18th member in the second APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Bogor, West Java, on Nov. 15.

President Soeharto is scheduled to host a working dinner on Nov. 14 for all APEC leaders.

When asked about the format of the Bogor meeting, Alatas reiterated that the format will remain the same as that during the first summit on Blake Island, the U.S., last November, in which Hong Kong and Taiwan were represented by their economic ministers.

"We get a strong indication that Taiwan will send its economic minister," Alatas said, reiterating Indonesia's one-China policy. "The U.S. and also the rest of the world adopt a one-China policy, Why shouldn't we?" (rid)