APEC officials discuss ways to advance free trade plan
APEC officials discuss ways to advance free trade plan
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): Senior officials from economies
bordering the Pacific rim kicked off a series of meetings
Saturday with the daunting task of advancing free trade and
investment following a setback in liberalization efforts on the
global stage.
Brunei is host of this year's meetings of the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum culminating in a leader's
summit in the tiny oil-rich Borneo state's capital Bandar Seri
Begawan in November.
Officials from the 21 APEC economies gathered at the Belalong
National Park, a lush tropical forest, will spend the weekend
deliberating issues ranging from lifting trade barriers to
enhancing economic cooperation.
"The jungles of Brunei will be a perfect setting for the
senior officials to start work for the year," said Lim Jock Seng,
a senior Brunei government official chairing the talks.
"We are aware of our heavy responsibility," he said.
With Asian economies now back on the growth path after being
derailed by the regional financial crisis which struck in mid-
1997, Brunei's job as chair is to consolidate efforts to
strengthen the economic recovery.
"I said that because there is no room for complacency," said
Lim, the permanent secretary of Brunei's foreign ministry.
APEC leaders in Auckland last year committed to a fast-tracked
tariff liberalization program which they hoped would receive a
significant boost from the launch of a new round of global trade
negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial
meeting in Seattle in December.
As the WTO talks failed to make a breakthrough, APEC economies
will have to ensure their proposed accelerated tariff
liberalization program is not put on the backburner.
Earlier this week, the WTO got moving again in Geneva with the
announcement of negotiations from the fourth week of February to
further liberalize trade in agriculture and services.
APEC's 21 member economies had a combined gross domestic
product of 16 trillion US dollars in 1998 and accounted for 42
percent of global trade.
Brunei wants to make APEC relevant to businesses, particularly
to small and medium-scale industries, and strengthen programs to
boost electronic commerce and information technology
infrastructure in the region.
Lim said a key challenge that could prove unsettling for
developing member economies of APEC was adopting technology in
information and communications.
"The pace of change fueled by the rapid development in
technology ... can however, be unsettling for many. It can also
offer a new route to a new era of economic prosperity.
"Our cooperation in APEC therefore, must focus on bringing
about the opportunities for all in the region," Lim said.