Assess Damage and Rebuild Confidence: APEC Approach to SARS Crisis

APEC Trade Ministers and Senior Officials meeting in Thailand next month will focus on strategies to rebuild business confidence and reinforce trade facilitation and business mobility to help counter the ongoing economic impact of SARS on APEC economies.

Ministers and Senior Officials will assess a range of information that will enable them to:

Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Ambassador Piamsak Milintachinda, said SARS has been a key issue for APEC since the APEC Emerging Infections Network (EINet) first alerted the medical community of the virus in February this year.

"In the space of two months this unknown virus has caused disruption to both people's lives and economies of the region," Ambassador Milintachinda said.

"The Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade in early June will be one of the highest level intergovernmental meetings to discuss the SARS issue since the virus could have serious implications to trade and investment in the region.

"APEC Trade ministers will assess the economic and social impact of SARS, look at progress made in containing SARS, and set plans in motion to enhance business mobility and facilitate trade expansion.

"Furthermore it is anticipated that Ministers Responsible for Trade will agree on joint action that APEC can take to rebuild business confidence.

"SARS is a cross border issue that has affected confidence in key sectors in APEC economies. In preparation for the Trade Ministers' meeting, APEC Senior Officials are working with stakeholders to address concerns and develop solutions for key industries that are affected by SARS."

"APEC Senior Officials meeting in Khon Kaen are also expected to consider a Joint Declaration by the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on SARS on 29 April 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand that calls for APEC Health Ministers to convene as soon as possible.

"APEC is forum built around the vision of achieving a prosperous Asia-Pacific community through economic cooperation and free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The global economy of today is based not only on economic issues but is interwoven with social development and community welfare concerns that impact directly on APEC economic goals.

"To this end APEC plays a role of bringing together several levels of government and the private sector to identify common problems, build confidence and serve as a central clearing house for developing solutions."

In the area of dealing with infectious diseases APEC leaders have been proactive. In 2001 APEC Leaders endorsed a strategy to combat infectious diseases called %u2018Infectious Diseases in the Asia Pacific Region: A Reason to Act and Acting with Reason.'

The strategy provides a framework for developing systems for disease surveillance and measures for responding to outbreaks through information sharing and cooperation. This strategy was particularly useful in the rapid implementation of screening measures and standards once the extent of the SARS epidemic became apparent.

EINet is now preparing a report which will outline some of the lessons learnt in the early stages of the crisis. It is anticipated that this report will be distributed to APEC officials next week and posted online at the EINet website: www.apec.org/infectious