Senior officials from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members have reached consensus on various issues, including trade and investment facilitation, Doha negotiation support, and anti- terrorism.

"One of outstanding outcomes of the second Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM II) is the preparation of a draft declaration of APEC ministers responsible for trade which reaffirms their political determination in support the facilitation of Doha negotiations so that they would conclude by late 2006 as targeted," Le Cong Phung, Vietnamese deputy minister of foreign affairs and APEC SOM chair, said at a press conference right after the two-day meeting ended in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has set target of making some progresses in the Doha multilateral trade talks in June and July so that the negotiations could wrap up by the end of this year, Phung said.

In the draft declaration, which will be submitted to the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade for approval slated for June 1-2 in southern Ho Chi Minh City, some proposals have been made, he said, noting that the proposals will be either accepted or rejected by the WTO. WTO members kicked off the negotiations in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, aiming to slash subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to global commerce.

At the SOM II, the delegates reached consensus on main points of a Hanoi action plan with specific measures to realize Bogor goals, adopted by APEC leaders at their 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, on free and open trade and investment in the Asia- Pacific region by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing ones, Phung said.

The Hanoi action plan, to be submitted to the approaching ministerial meeting and then the APEC summit in November for approval, puts forth concrete measures to implement the Busan Roadmap, a step leading to the Bogor goals. APEC leaders in 2005 developed a blueprint in Busan, South Korea for improving trade and investment facilitation measures, regional travel, and seeking a satisfactory conclusion to the WTO Doha Development Agenda round of negotiations.

The SOM II also put forth model measures for regional trading arrangements (RTA) and free trade agreements (FTA), a guide to the core provisions which might be included in a RTA or FTA, regarding them as one of measures to facilitate free trade along with other factors as tariff and cost reduction, anti-counterfeit goods, and trade transparency enhancement, Phung said.

"The SOM II agreed with the time frame for reducing 5 percent of transaction costs (the costs incurred when arranging business activities and in the APEC context relating to the movement of goods, standards, electronic commerce and the mobility of business people in the 2007-2010 period," he noted.

Earlier, APEC leaders set two goals of lowering the costs in the region: reducing 5 percent by 2006, and eyeing a further 5- percent reduction by 2010.

Besides the economic issues, the SOM II also touched upon such matters as ensuring human, business and trade security, and combating diseases and natural disasters. The meeting adopted three respective "initiatives on an APEC guidebook on counter- terrorism of the Philippines, organization of counter-terrorism financing workshops of Australia, and food defense of the United States," Phung said.

At a two-day meeting ending here on May 27, the APEC's Counter- Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) agreed to develop a new initiative on food defense which would mitigate the terrorist threat to APEC economies' food supply. In addition to addressing the risks to the food supply by terrorist attacks, it will also respond to the potential for catastrophic human and economic consequences of contamination in the region.

The CTTF also agreed to conduct two counter-terrorism financing workshops for Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) officials from APEC economies in 2007. The workshops will center on the role and responsibilities of FIUs for monitoring transactions involving non- profit organizations and alternative remittance systems.

Some 1,000 delegates from 21 APEC members participated in the SOM II and related meetings and workshops from May 22 to 30. Some of the event's outcomes will act as inputs of the ministerial meeting on June 1-2.

APEC, the premier forum established in 1989 for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia- Pacific region, is the only inter-governmental grouping in the world operating on the basis of non-binding commitments, open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants.

APEC has 21 members which account for more than a third of the world's population, nearly 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), and about 47 percent of the world trade. It has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing exports.

Source: Xinhua