APEC ministers touch upon regional trade, investment

The plenary session of the Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade opened Friday in Ho Chi Minh City, centering on seeking ways of facilitating trade and promoting investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The meeting will have frank and open discussions to review cooperation process and jointly put forth practical measures to better implement the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan towards Bogor goals, minimize, and eventually remove, restrictions in foreign investment," Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said while addressing the last working day of the two-day event.

According to Khoan, 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) should place prioritization on mapping out a practical action plan to realize the Busan Roadmap towards Bogor goals.

"The meeting will send a strong message on the necessity to remove obstacles, successfully conclude the Doha Development Agenda Round on the basis of balanced rights and special and differential treatment for developing countries," he stated.

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. WTO members kicked off the negotiations in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, aiming to slash subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to global commerce.

The APEC senior officials' meeting held in southern Ho Chi Minh City from May 30 to 31 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.

The main points, discussed during the ministerial meeting and then the APEC summit in November in Hanoi capital for approval, puts forth concrete measures to implement the Busan Roadmap, a step leading to the Bogor goals. The 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 DDA round of negotiations.

On Friday morning, the last working day of the two-day ministerial meeting, the delegates are to endorse recommendations of the senior officials' meeting, discuss trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, economic and technical cooperation and interaction with the business community, and seek ways of improving secure and favorable business environment.

Source: Xinhua