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)