RI to host 2nd meeting of APEC ministers

RI to host 2nd meeting of APEC ministers

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia plans to host the second meeting of finance ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in April 1995 to discuss financial ties among members.

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance Yusuf Anwar told reporters here on Saturday that the meeting, to be held on April 15 and 16, will follow up on the results of the first finance ministers' meeting in Honolulu in March this year.

The finance ministers of APEC's 17 members -- Australia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand -- agreed in the Honolulu meeting on the need for sustainable economic growth in the region. They also agree on the need to protect their currencies as their economies are increasingly bound together by trade and investment.

Chile will become the 18th member of APEC at the forum's ministerial meeting here this month.

The ministers also agreed on the importance of increasing the cross-border flow of goods and services and the role of the private sector, as well as the development of capital markets to effectively mobilize private financing.

Yusuf said on Saturday that the second meeting will discuss various financial topics, including the flow of short-tern capital among member economies.

"The finance ministers' second meeting will be preceded by a meeting in March 1995 of deputy ministers, who will prepare materials for their discussions," he was quoted by Antara as saying. (riz)