Preparatory APEC meeting closes in Japan
Preparatory APEC meeting closes in Japan
FUKUOKA, Japan (AFP): The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum wound up three days of talks here yesterday as the United States called for more work on a new Japanese development aid initiative.
But the group's preparations for this year's summit of APEC leaders in Osaka in November were extended to a previously unscheduled fourth day of talks to discuss specific trade and investment issues.
APEC sources said the "special" meeting of senior officials today would be devoted to working out the "elements, modalities and timetables" for implementing a declaration by APEC leaders in Indonesia last year.
At their second summit in Bogor in November, leaders from the 18-member group set two deadlines for achieving free trade and investment in the region -- 2010 for industrialized members and 2020 for developing members.
"In some ways, the meeting on Thursday is more important as it will be dealing with all of the implications of the Bogor declaration," said a senior official from one APEC country who asked not to be named.
Japanese officials said the special talks would be a kind of "brainstorming" session in a smaller group of APEC delegates, separating the long-term task of working out a blueprint for free trade from the more mundane job of preparing for the annual gathering of ministers.
APEC usually holds four rounds of high-level talks to prepare for ministerial meetings. But Japan proposed holding only three rounds this year, accompanied by the special meetings on trade and investment.
During the three-day meeting here, APEC officials discussed various cooperation issues including human resources, infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises, energy, environment and sustainable development.
Partners
Japan, as the current chair of APEC, meanwhile proposed details of its "partners for progress" initiative unveiled at last year's annual meeting in Jakarta. The initiative seeks to move away from the traditional one-sided approach to development aid by establishing a more cooperative network.
Sandra Kristoff, U.S. coordinator for APEC at the State Department, said the "underlying hope" of the Japan proposal was for a "new form of cooperation -- not the traditional-donor recipient."
"Whether the Japanese can fulfill this hope depends upon, I think, whether APEC members in working with Japan can refine the proposal so that it is closely related to APEC's goals," she told a news conference.
Kristoff said the three-day meeting here was otherwise "very much of success," with Japan showing its commitment to the Bogor declaration.
"The Japanese chair made very clear that Japan intends to exercise leadership to help APEC produce for Osaka an action agenda that covers all three of the areas spelled out in the Bogor declaration," she said, referring to liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment along with development cooperation.
"There is a new sense of energy among senior officials and we all know that every APEC activity has to get zeroed in and focussed on those three elements."
Other items on the agenda at the Fukuoka meeting included what to do with the group's small secretariat in Singapore. The current three-year arrangement, with APEC members paying for seconded professional staff and Singapore footing the rest of the bill, expires at the end of this year.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
Secretariat -- Page 5
Rates -- Page 10