APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting Begins Today

APEC small and medium enterprises will be the focus of a ministerial meeting beginning in Hobart today.

The 14th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting is bringing together representatives of APEC's 21 Member Economies to discuss the latest initiatives and practices to develop and grow around 49 million businesses in the APEC Region.

The Hon. Fran Bailey MP, Australia's Minister for Small Business and Tourism, highlighted issues to be considered at the SME Ministerial Meeting.

"High on our agenda will be the actions taken to support small business initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions by developing a more energy-efficient sector," Ms. Bailey said at the start of the meeting.

"The meeting will showcase examples of Australian ingenuity that are taking these steps.

"We are also looking at ways that we can make it easier to start and grow a business, as well as best-practice initiatives we can introduce to cut costs and save time for SMEs."

Other issues to be addressed include cutting red tape, encouraging innovation and tackling barriers to exports.

The theme of the meeting is 'Driving SME Growth through Economic Reform.'

The ministerial meeting will begin later this afternoon with the first informal reception for ministers hosted by the Premier of the State of Tasmania, the Hon. Paul Lennon.

A ministerial forum and plenary meeting will be held on Thursday, followed by a concluding plenary meeting on Friday and the release of the Joint Ministerial Statement.

The last APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Meeting was held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in September 2006.