APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting Begins Today

APEC Finance Ministers will cover a range of issues relating to the regional and global economy when they begin their meeting this morning in Juju, Korea.

The themes for 12th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting are "Free and Stable Movement of Capital" and "Meet the Challenge of Ageing Economies."

Korea's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr. Duck-Soo Han, said he anticipates productive results from the meeting on areas that deserve the highest level of attention.

"We will seek ways to facilitate intra-regional capital flows, and explore the challenges and opportunities that population ageing will accompany," Mr. Han said before the start of the meeting.

"Population ageing deserves our special attention, since this trend is already pervasive and will influence the sustainable growth and the activities of the global economy.

"I hope our discussions at the 12th FMM would serve as a platform for enhancing our efforts to jointly respond to this global trend."

The meeting will conclude tomorrow with a News Conference that is scheduled for 11:30AM (Korea time) at which the Joint Ministerial Statement will be read.

APEC Finance Ministers have met annually since 1994 to exchange views and share information on regional financial developments.