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Meetings
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APEC 1993
SUMMIT - BLAKE ISLAND, UNITED STATES
The United States hosted the first APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
(AELM) at Blake Island, near Seattle. Leaders met for informal
discussions on the newly established community of Asia-Pacific
economies. This historical meeting was preceded by the 5th APEC
Ministerial Meeting, also at Blake Island, from November 17-19,
1993.
Leaders seized this opportunity to share their vision for APEC.
In their Declaration, they stressed the importance for the new
forum to strengthen cooperation and promote prosperity in the
region while harnessing the energy of its diverse economies.
They pointed to the reduction of trade and investment barriers
as one of the vehicles to achieve these goals through the expansion
of trade in the region.
Ministers established the Committee on Trade and Investment
(CTI) to increase cooperation on issues such as global trade
and investment, flow of goods, services, capital and technology
within the region and globally in a manner consistent with World
Trade Organization principles. A Budget and Administrative Committee
(BAC) was also created to handle budget and administrative issues.
It is now known as the Budget Management Committee (BMC).
On this occasion, APEC welcomed Mexico and Papua New Guinea
as new members, increasing the total APEC membership from 15
to 17.
APEC 1994 SUMMIT - BOGOR, INDONESIA
The second APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) was held in
Bogor, Indonesia, on November 15, 1994. Leaders took this opportunity
to exchange their views on where the economies of the region
needed to go for the next 25 years. The meeting was preceded
by the 6th APEC Ministerial Meeting, also in Bogor, on November
11-12, 1993.
In the Declaration they issued at the end of their meeting,
Leaders pledged to achieve free and open trade and investment
in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for developed members and
2020 for developing economies, thus responding to the call of
the Eminent Persons Group and the Pacific Business Forum to
establish timelines and targets.
Ministers identified twelve Non-Binding Investment Principles
for APEC economies to facilitate investment flows within the
region. The ad hoc group on Economic Trends and Issues was transformed
into the Economic Committee, chaired by Canada from the end
of 1994 to 1998. A Policy Level Group on Small-and-Medium-Sized
Enterprises was established to address the special needs of
this business sector in the region.
Chile joined APEC at the Bogor Summit. The total membership
of the organization was up from 17 to 18.
APEC 1995 SUMMIT - OSAKA, JAPAN
The APEC Economic Leaders met in Osaka, Japan, on 19 November,
1995, for the third time since the organization was created.
Their primary agenda was to initiate the work of translating
the Blake Island vision and the Bogor goals into reality. The
meeting was preceded by the 7th APEC Ministerial Meeting, also
in Osaka, November 16-17, 1995.
In their Declaration, Leaders endorsed the Osaka Action Agenda,
a blueprint for implementing their commitment to free and open
trade and investment, business facilitation, and economic and
technical cooperation. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
was established to increase business sector involvement in APEC.
Leaders also initiated the FEEEP Program (Food, Environment,
Energy, Economic Development, Population) to evaluate how to
sustain the region's valuable resources in the context of growing
population demands and rapid economic development.
Ministers agreed to an Action Agenda that would facilitate the
Bogor commitment. APEC members agreed to compile Individual
and Collective Action Plans outlining unilateral and collective
measures required to achieve free and open trade and investment
by 2010/2020. Part of the Action Agenda deals with economic
and technical cooperation based on principles of mutual respect
and consensus-building to sustain growth and narrow regional
disparities. The Partners for Progress (PFP) mechanism was introduced
to support projects that promote economic and technical cooperation
more efficiently in APEC, with a particular focus on projects
supporting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation
(TILF).
APEC 1996 SUMMIT - SUBIC, PHILIPPINES
The Philippines hosted the 4th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting
(AELM) in Subic, on November 25, 1996. The meeting was preceded
by the 8th APEC Ministerial Meeting, in Manila, November 22-23,
1996.
In their Declaration, leaders endorsed the Manila Action Plan
for APEC (MAPA) and reaffirmed their support of the WTO by calling
for the conclusion of an information technology agreement (ITA).
Leaders established six priority areas for strengthening economic
and technical cooperation including: human resources, efficient
capital markets, economic infrastructure, technologies of the
future, sustainable development, and small and medium-sized
enterprises. Leaders also met with the APEC Business Advisory
Council (ABAC) for the first time.
Ministers adopted the Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA), integrating
the Individual and Collective Action Plans (IAPs, CAPs) as well
as progress reports on joint activities. Member economies confirmed
their commitment to implement the IAPs and CAPs starting January
1, 1997, and to review progress and chart next steps in November
1997.
APEC 1997 SUMMIT - VANCOUVER, CANADA
Canada hosted the 5th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM)
in Vancouver, November 24-25, 1997. Leaders focused their discussions
on financial developments in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting
was preceded by the 9th APEC Ministerial Meeting, also in Vancouver,
November 21-22, 1997.
In their Declaration, leaders agreed to strengthen APEC cooperation
in support of the International Monetary Fund. They endorsed
the Vancouver Framework for Enhanced Public-Private Cooperation
on Infrastructure, and called for further efforts to ensure
long-term sustainability especially in highly populated urban
centres.
Ministers agreed to start a process (known as the Early Voluntary
Sectoral Liberalization or EVSL initiative) towards tariff reductions
in 15 specific sectors, with work on nine to begin on a priority
basis in 1998. They launched cooperative work programs on emergency
preparedness, electronic commerce and the impact of trade liberalization,
and endorsed the creation of a new sub-committee to increase
cooperation on economic and technical cooperation. Ministers
also endorsed the Blueprint for Customs Modernization to streamline
customs procedures by the year 2001. They encouraged further
initiatives to bring labour, management and government representatives
together to discuss human resource issues.
APEC Leaders agreed to admit Peru, Russia and Vietnam as new
members in 1998, and establish a 10-year period of consolidation
to ensure their full integration.
APEC 1998 SUMMIT (KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA)
The 6th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) took place in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 17-18, 1998. Leaders focused
their discussions on economic recovery in the region and APEC's
response to the crisis. The meeting was preceded by the 10th
APEC Ministerial Meeting, also in Kuala Lumpur, November 14-15,
1998.
In their Declaration, Leaders agreed to pursue a cooperative
growth strategy to end the financial crisis. They pledged efforts
to strengthen social safety nets, financial systems, trade and
investment flows, the scientific and technological base, human
resources development, economic infrastructure, and business
and commercial links so as to provide the base and set the pace
for sustained growth into the 21st century. Leaders adopted
the Kuala Lumpur Action Program on Skills Development with the
objective to contribute towards sustainable growth and equitable
development while reducing economic disparities and improving
the social well-being of the people, through skills upgrading/improvement.
Ministers reviewed recent developments in the world economy,
and expressed concern that the Asian financial crisis has had
serious socio-economic implications fro growth, employment and
poverty levels in member economies. Ministers tasked Senior
Officials to intensify APEC's efforts to address the social
impacts of the crisis as a high priority, and supported the
work programme of APEC Finance Ministers in strengthening the
international and domestic financial systems.
Ministers also called for intensified work on trade facilitation
which encouraged the use of technologies and techniques that
would help members to build up expertise, reduce costs and lead
to better movement of goods and services. They approved the
Kuala Lumpur Action Programme on Skills Development to further
intensify efforts towards upgrading the skills of the region's
human capital and instructed APEC fora, particularly the HRD
Working Group, to implement the Action Programme.
But APEC economies were not able to conclude successfully the
tariff negotiations mandated under the Early Voluntary Sectoral
Liberalization (EVSL) initiative; the tariff elements of these
negotiations were transferred to the World Trade Organization
(WTO).
APEC 1999 SUMMIT - AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand was host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum events in 1999, which culminated in the 7th APEC
Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) in Auckland, New Zealand, from
September 12-13, 1999. The 11th APEC Ministerial Meeting took
place September 9-10, 1999 preceding the AELM.
Prime Minister Jean Chr??tien attended the APEC Leaders' Meeting
in Auckland, New Zealand. He was accompanied by Minister of
Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy and the Secretary
of State (Asia-Pacific) Mr. Raymond Chan, who was representing
the Honourable Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of International Trade.
Leaders' discussions focussed on the challenges of sustaining
domestic economic reform and liberalization as the region continued
to recover from the financial crisis. In their Declaration,
leaders also reaffirmed the importance of promoting open, transparent
and well-governed markets (particularly domestic financial markets)
and to achieving the goals of free and open trade and investment
in APEC by 2010/2020, as they had agreed at the 2nd APEC Economic
Leaders' Meeting in Bogor, Indonesia.
Specifically, Leaders endorsed:
?? the recommendations of Finance Ministers on strengthening
international financial architecture and domestic financial
market supervision, bond market development and corporate governance;
?? the launch at Seattle of a new Round of multilateral trade
negotiations in the WTO as recommended by Trade Ministers;
?? APEC Principles to Enhance Competition Policy and Regulatory
Reform and an initial work program aimed at supporting the further
development of open, competitive and efficient markets in APEC
member economies (in particular in developing member economies);
?? Framework for the Integration of Women into APEC.
Leaders also underlined the importance of Y2K remediation and
contingency planning, an important Canadian focus in APEC throughout
1999. They called on Trade Ministers to strengthen APEC's work
in the area of trade facilitation including through closer dialogue
with business and greater peer review. They also called for
more work on standards for banking supervisory regimes.
Following the special meeting of APEC foreign ministers in Auckland
on September 8, the AELM lent considera
APEC 2000 SUMMIT
(BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI DARUSSALAM)
Brunei is host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum events this year, which will culminate in the 8th APEC
Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Darussalam on November 15-16 , 2000. The 12th meeting of APEC
Ministers will take place on November 12-13 preceding the AELM.
The APEC Trade Ministers will meet in Darwin, Australia on June
6-8 and the Finance Ministers in Brunei on September 6-10.
To prepare for these meetings, the Senior Officials of APEC's
21 member economies will convene February 12-21, May 26-June
3, and September 15-23. Prior to the Economic Leaders' Meeting,
they will meet again for an Informal Meeting on November 10-11.
Official themes for APEC 2000 and have not yet been identified,
but following some recommendations from APEC 1999, work in the
coming year is likely to include:
?? strengthening trade facilitation throughout the region;
?? initiatives for strengthening markets and expanding opportunities
for business throughout the region;
?? efforts to improve the Individual Action Plans (IAPs) in partnership
with the private sector;
?? the challenge of building popular support for economic reform
and further trade and investment liberalization.
Brunei has indicated an interest in issues such as youth and
electronic commerce.
Canada will continue to play an active role in broadening support
for APEC further, and in finding opportunities for economies
to exchange experiences in this area.
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