APEC Ministerial Meeting concludes successfully

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem announced the successful results of the meeting at a press briefing in Hanoi on November 16. He said APEC ministers focused their discussion on the resumption of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, APEC structural reform, anti-corruption, disaster preparedness and the fight against bird flu.

Mr Khiem, who chaired the meeting, said ministers adopted and highly valued Vietnam’s initiative on the Hanoi Action Plan, considering it a milestone for APEC to realise the Busan Roadmap.

APEC ministers also discussed structural reform to make APEC operate more dynamically and efficiently, focusing on measures to strengthen the capacity of the APEC Secretariat, improve efficiency of APEC processes, establish closer integration with the APEC Business Advisory Council and ensure a more focused policy agenda. They also touched upon other issues such as anti-corruption, disaster preparedness and the fight against bird flu.

“I believe that all recommendations made by AMM delegates will help APEC to improve the efficiency of its operation, marking 2006 as the Year of APEC reform,” said Mr Khiem.

The meeting adopted a 26-page joint ministerial statement to be submitted to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 18-19.

At the press briefing, Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen answered questions relating to the results of the meeting raised by the local and foreign press.

Regarding the establishment of a Free Trade Area for the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), Mr Tuyen said many agreements on bilateral and regional free trade areas have been signed in the Asia and Pacific region. On the one hand, he said, these agreements serve as a driving force behind the multilateral trading system to support widespread trade liberalisation. However, on the other hand, many of these agreements are not compatible with each other and consequently they bar regional development.

Despite different opinions on the establishment of FTAAP, APEC ministers reached consensus on a FTAAP in the future, said Mr Tuyen.

According to Mr Tuyen, APEC’s top priority now is given to reinvigorate the Doha Round of trade negotiations and accomplish the Bogor Goals on trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation.

Mr Tuyen said despite the positive signs of the past four years, the Doha Round encountered many difficulties in the final stage. APEC makes up almost 50 percent of total global trade and plays an important role in revitalising the round. Therefore, Mr Tuyen said, APEC ministers spent much time discussing ways to push these negotiations back on track. Based on new initiatives and high commitments made at the meeting, APEC ministers showed their resolve to revitalise the round by submitting a statement on the Doha round to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 18-19, taking into account the interests of developing countries.

Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing APEC reform to ensure the economic group remains relevant, effective and responsive to the needs of member economies and the business community.

Concluding the press briefing, Mr Tuyen highlighted Vietnam’s role in APEC, saying the country has made substantial contributions to the grouping since its joining in 1998.

“All APEC member economies view Vietnam as a dynamic economy. As the host of APEC 14, Vietnam has put forward several initiatives such as the organisation of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Avian and Influenza Pandemics, the drafting of the Hanoi Action Plan and proposals for APEC structural reform. I believe that Vietnam will make further contributions to the APEC process in the coming years.”

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