APEC Small Business Ministers to Meet in Chile Today, New Proposals to Assist SME and Micro Enterprise Development
Government ministers responsible for the Small and Medium Enterprises sector will meet in Santiago Chile today and tomorrow to address issues affecting the growth and sustainability of the small business sector.
Among the issues on the agenda at the 11th Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting will be two separate proposals that are intended to strengthen the operations of both SMEs and smaller Micro Enterprises.
It is anticipated that the first proposal, the APEC Agenda for Entrepreneurship, will consider the environment in which SMEs operate and seek to identify collaborative ways for the government and SMEs to work together.
The second proposal, the APEC Micro Enterprise Action Plan, will cover areas of financial options that are open to micro enterprises. Many of these micro enterprises, that typically operate with only one or two people, are run by women people from other groups that in some areas face disadvantage.
Other issues on the agenda include an APEC initiative to expand the common use of English and other languages for cross-border SME trade, the impact of security initiatives on SME trade and reviews of recent SME projects undertaken in APEC Member Economies.
The APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting is an annual event on the APEC calendar. Outcomes from the meeting make a significant contribution to the planning of policy affecting the operations of SMEs and Micro Enterprises in the region.
The meeting will be chaired by Chile's Minister for Economy, Mr. Jorge Rodriguez, and take place at Espacio Riesco Convention Centre on October 6-7.
A News Conference will take place at the Espacio Riesco Convention Centre on Thursday, October 7, at 17:15 Santiago time. This news conference is expected to be Webcast via the APEC Secretariat Website soon after the conclusion of the news conference.
Following this meeting the next ministerial event on the APEC Calendar is the APEC Tourism Ministers' Meeting that will be held in Punta Arenas, Chile, on October 12-15.