Senior officials of APEC forum hail EPG report
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Senior officials of the 17 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum yesterday gave a positive response to a report by a special task force which recommended the implementation of free trade by the year 2020.
"Many gave their support to the thrust of the report ... They reacted positively," said Indonesia's Wisber Loeis, who chaired yesterday's meeting of APEC officials.
In a presentation during the opening day of the third APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) here yesterday, the chairman of the forum's Eminent Persons Group (EPG), C. Fred Bergsten, elaborated on the call for the adoption of a definite timetable for trade liberalization.
"Many expressed their approval of the long range objectives contained within the report," said Wisber, who is also the director general of foreign economic relations at the foreign ministry.
The second EPG report titled Achieving the APEC vision, calls on APEC leaders to adopt a timetable for the establishment of comprehensive free trade within 20 years time, beginning in the year 2000.
Established in 1992, the EPG is made up of 16 experts from APEC members designed to develop a vision for trade in the region. It's initial report was released just prior to the APEC leaders meeting on Blake Island, Seattle, last year.
The second report was concluded in August and presented to President Soeharto, as chairman of the forum, on Aug. 31.
Barriers
The report stipulates that within the forum, developed countries such as the United States must reduce all trade barriers by 2010, Newly Industrialized Countries such as South Korea by 2015 and developing countries such as Indonesia by 2020.
APEC groups Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
"Nobody was signing up or saying that we endorse it all, but they were all very complementary," remarked Bergsten when queried on his perception of the APEC delegates' reactions.
After hearing from Bergsten, the APEC SOM then deliberated further on the EPG report. Participants will draft their conclusion to be submitted to the sixth APEC Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta on Nov. 11-12.
Despite the reportedly positive response, Wisber would not reveal if the SOM would recommend the adoption of the report at the end of the meetings tomorrow.
"No one raised any complaint about the report but if it is about the details I'm sure there are some, only this wasn't raised in the meeting," he said.
Bergsten himself modestly commented that he did not expect the recommendations of the EPG report to be wholly accepted.
He asserted that the EPG's role was to give recommendations that would lay out an ambitious vision for APEC.
"I think everyone who spoke said they very much appreciated our report and that we had done our job of challenging them and laying out a bold vision," Bergsten said.
When asked by The Jakarta Post concerning his own personal view of the EPG report, Wisber gave a nodding response saying that the report had considered the remarks made by APEC countries after the first EPG report last year.
They have weighed well the sensitive issues and been able to avoid them, Wisber said without elaborating.
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