APEC kicks off with committee and working group meetings

APEC kicks off with committee and working group meetings

JAKARTA (JP): A pre-senior officials meeting began here
yesterday, marking the beginning of a chain of meetings by the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum which will
culminate in the all important gathering of the economic leaders
in Bogor on Nov. 15.

Yesterday's meeting at the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center,
is part of a series of committee and working group meetings prior
to the fourth Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) from Nov. 8 to Nov.
10.

The chain of meetings began at 9 a.m. yesterday with a Customs
and Procedures group meeting attended by some 50 delegates. It
was followed by the Investment group meeting after lunch.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong,
Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New
Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United
States and Indonesia as host.

Chile will make its formal entrance as a member after the APEC
Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 11 and Nov. 12. It has participated
in APEC activities since the third SOM in Yogyakarta last
September.

Overall, six working groups and committees are scheduled to
hold meetings in the run-up to the Senior Officials Meeting.

The other group and committee meetings scheduled are the
Standard and Conformance working group, the Committee on Economic
Trends and Issues, the Committee on Trade and Investment and the
Tariff Data Base group.

These meetings are expected to lay the groundwork for the
senior officials, who will formulate the agenda for the ministers
meeting next week.

Some 400 participants are expected to be involved in the
fourth SOM, which will take place at Assembly Hall 2 of the
Jakarta Hilton Convention Center.

The chairman of the SOM who is also the director general of
foreign economic relations at the Indonesian foreign ministry,
Wisber Loeis, said that the fourth SOM will involve the
finalization of topics to be deliberated at the ministerial
meeting.

On the eve of the Ministerial Meeting, a working dinner for
the ministers will be held hosted by Coordinating Minister of
Industry and Trade Hartarto.

The inaugural session of the Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 11
will take place at the State Palace. It will be opened by
President Soeharto.

At the end of the Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 12, the chairman
of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, Abu Rizal Bakrie, will
host a dinner in the guests' honor.

The nearly two-weeks of APEC meetings here will reach a peak
when the economic leaders of the forum gather for a one-day
"informal" meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Nov. 15.
(mds)