Korea's Trade Minister Calls for APEC Resolve to Advance WTO Round APEC Trade Ministers' Meeting - June 2 to 3
Korea's Trade Minister, Mr Hyun Chong Kim, has highlighted the importance of APEC Trade Ministers making a contribution to advancing the WTO Doha Development Agenda when they meet in Jeju, Korea, on 2-3 June.
In a letter to Ministers attending the Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade, Mr Kim urged his colleagues to use their time spent in ministerial retreat to "primarily discuss ways to contribute to the WTO DDA negotiations."
This he noted was particularly important for the anticipated success of the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference that will be held in Hong Kong, China, in December.
Mr Kim said he hoped APEC ministers would add momentum to progress made at the OECD Ministerial Council and the WTO mini-ministerial meeting in Paris recently. He expressed optimism that ministers would deliver a message on WTO DDA indicating that "APEC members are determined to achieve agreement on the negotiation modalities at the Ministerial Conference."
Following the Paris conference Mr Kim also communicated with APEC Trade Ministers to develop a joint statement calling on all WTO Members to meet the May deadline for submitting offers to progress services trade negotiations. At the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Chile last year, all APEC Members had agreed to submit urgently their initial offers and to meet this WTO deadline for submitting improved revised offers.
Mr Kim also made mention of other important issues for consideration by ministers including the midterm stock take of the Bogor Goals and ongoing issues such economic and technical cooperation, transparency and anti-corruption, and counter-terrorism.
Mr Kim welcomed all Member Economies' participation in the upcoming meeting that he said would generate benefits for the region.
"I hope the forthcoming meeting will provide us with an invaluable opportunity to consolidate APEC's work towards freer trade in the region and towards a safer business environment, while taking a lead in strengthening the multilateral trading system."
The Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade is preceded by a range of preparatory events that began on Saturday May 21 in Jeju. The final meetings before the commencement of the Trade Ministers' Meeting will be the second meeting of APEC Senior Officials for 2005 that will take place on May 30-31.