13th APEC Finance Ministers Meeting Press Conference - Mr Peter Costello, Treasurer of Australia

The 13th APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting has concluded in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, with the release of the Joint Ministerial Statement and the concluding Press Conference that was attended by ministers.

Meeting over two days, Ministers covered issues of consequence to regional economic growth that are outlined in the Joint Ministerial Statement and were further discussed in the Press Conference.

The Joint Ministerial Statement covers the following areas:

• Global and Regional Economic Developments
• The 2006 APEC Finance Ministers' Process Policy Themes of "Promoting Public Finance Efficiency and Sustainability: Towards Stable and Efficient Revenue Sources" and "Financial Sector Reform to Attract Capital Flows."
• Review of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process
• Other matters and information on the next Finance Ministers' Meeting in Australia, on 2-3 August 2007
  

The statement also contains up-to-date annexes on current work in the Finance Ministers' Process:

• The Strategic Goals of the APEC Finance Ministers' Process and Hanoi Medium-Term Agenda
• Policy Initiatives Review including the Voluntary Action Plan for Supporting Freer and More Stable Capital Flows, the APEC Financial Regulators Training Initiative and the APEC Future Economic Leaders' Think Tank
• Progress on the Jeju Declaration including work on aging populations.
  

APEC Finance Ministers have met annually since 1994.

The next major meetings on the APEC agenda are the Meeting of APEC Senior Officials in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on September 17 and the Meeting of APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers' Meeting in Ha Noi on September 28-29.

Comments by the incoming APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting Chair (2007), the Treasurer of Australia, Mr Peter Costello.