APEC Ministers First Day of Meetings
APEC ministers concluded the first day of their annual meeting today with agreement on a broad range of issues including support for WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, trade facilitation in the Asia-Pacific, and new counter-terrorism initiatives.
In the retreat session chaired by Viet Nam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pham Gia Khiem and Minister of Trade, Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen, ministerial representatives from 21 member economies discussed issues relating to strengthening the multilateral trading system.
Congratulating Viet Nam on its accession to the WTO and appreciating the host for organizing a timely meeting regarding the stalled WTO negotiations, Ministers agreed that support for the DDA continues to be APEC's top priority. Ministers reached broad consensus on the draft of a stand-alone statement on DDA that they will propose to Leaders to issue later this week.
The 18th APEC Ministerial Meeting (AMM) endorsed 5 model measures for high-quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements (RTAs/FTAs) in trade in goods, technical barriers to trade, transparency, government procurement, and cooperation. Ministers also agreed to instruct senior officials to continue discussions on more measures for endorsement soon.
Delegates had a lively discussion on the idea of a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a long-term prospect and agreed to instruct senior officials to conduct study on this matter.
Ministers unanimously approved the Ha Noi Action Plan to implement the Busan roadmap and agreed that the action plan is an important vehicle to push for effective realization of the 1994 Bogor goals of free and open trade and investment.
Delegates also stressed the importance of the business community and stated their support for business interests in APEC activities.
The meeting endorsed the list of 2006 counter-terrorism deliverables submitted by senior officials and reiterated APEC's determination to fight terrorism to achieve peace, stability and a secure business environment in the region and the world.
Ministers also endorsed the APEC Reform 2006 Deliverables, agreeing that this is an important achievement, which will help increase the forum's relevance, practicality and effectiveness.
The meeting will continue with a plenary session tomorrow with discussions on intellectual property rights, individual action plans and collective action plans, economic and technical cooperation, health security, anti-corruption, and private sector development, among other topics.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Pham Gia Khiem will give a press conference about the meeting afterwards.