Keating hails Soeharto's drive on free trade
JAKARTA (JP): Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has applauded President Soeharto's initiative on trade liberalization among members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
He hailed it as a pioneering move from a leading developing country.
"In the past, great initiatives in trade liberalization have come from industrialized countries. For the first time in Bogor, one of the leading developing countries is issuing the challenge," Keating said in Brisbane on Wednesday.
APEC economic leaders are scheduled to convene at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Nov. 15.
"This vision is President Soeharto's," he said addressing the Asia-Australia Institute. "It is vital that we respond to him."
In his speech, made available to The Jakarta Post here yesterday, Keating greatly emphasized the importance of APEC's efforts to establish free trade in the region and Soeharto's role of pushing the idea into fruition.
"It represents a new level of leadership from Asia and a new level of leadership from the developing countries," Keating said.
APEC groups Canada, the United States, Mexico, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Chile will join it next month.
Touching on the Bogor meeting, Keating described it as the most important gathering held in southeast Asia since the Bandung Conference in 1955, based on which the Non-Aligned Movement was created.
Listed high on the agenda will be discussions on the possible adoption of a timetable for trade and investment liberalization for APEC members.
Recently two separate groups of the forum, the Pacific Business Forum and the Eminent Persons Group, proposed deadlines for free trade by 2010 and 2020 respectively.
Commitment
As a major advocate, Keating reiterated his desire that the leaders, at the Bogor meeting, endorse a commitment for free trade in the APEC region by a realistic date.
"I'm not worried about the date we set ... The main thing is to get the political commitment to make a start," he noted.
Keating, in an apparent bid to sell the idea of APEC to those unconverted few, pointed out the tremendous rewards Australia would reap from the forum.
The premier went so far as to say that the benefits from APEC would be several times those of the Uruguay Round of negotiations on free trade.
"It can underwrite Australia's future," he argued.
Apart from the economic benefits, Keating further maintained that there were also strategic and political benefits to be gained from APEC.
The United States, the premier contended, is central to the Asia Pacific region and thus its presence and commitment to the region must somehow be ensured.
In this regard, APEC, Keating said, "helps to lock in the U.S. economic and commercial interests in the region, which in turn helps ensure U.S. strategic engagement."
Furthermore, Keating believes that APEC will also help contain competition between China, Japan and the United States, besides giving smaller countries a better role in shaping the regional trading arrangements. (mds)