Osaka summit 'crucial' to Bogor accord
Osaka summit 'crucial' to Bogor accord
SINGAPORE (AFP): Japan's Finance Minister Masayoshi Takemura stressed yesterday the need for unity within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to flesh out an ambitious accord removing tariff barriers within a quarter-century.
Takemura said the third summit of the 18-member APEC forum in Osaka in November was "crucial" to the successful implementation of the accord reached in Indonesia last year to create a free trade zone by 2020.
"The Osaka meeting is a very important one to promote free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region," a senior Japanese official quoted Takemura as saying during talks with Singapore's Premier Goh Chok Tong.
Takemura, who arrived late Wednesday for a two-day visit, also sought Singapore's support in making the summit in Osaka a success, Japanese deputy vice-minister for international affairs Haruo Funabashi told a media briefing after the talks.
Under the Bogor Declaration framed during the second APEC summit in Indonesia last November, "free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific" should be achieved no later than 2020.
Industrialized economies within APEC, however, will have to achieve that goal by 2010. No dates were set for the newly industrializing economies such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The Osaka summit would have to turn the broad commitment reached at Bogor into a blueprint for action, officials said.
APEC comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
Liberalization
Funabashi said that during the talks with Takemura, Goh urged Japan to push forward the process of trade liberalization among the APEC members.
Goh also told Takemura that implementing the Bogor accord in Osaka might be a "painful" process, Funabashi said.
Analysts said that although the commitment was there and the target set, APEC leaders might argue over details in implementing the Bogor accord.
There is also concern in Washington that Japan may be less keen to push ahead than either the United States or Indonesia, which drafted the Bogor accord, news reports said.
Goh also urged Japanese companies to team up with counterparts in Singapore to assist in the economic development of China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, Funabashi said.
Takemura, who held talks with Singapore's senior minister Lee Kuan Yew and finance minister Richard Hu, left late yesterday for Kuala Lumpur where he was expected to hold talks with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad today.