APEC Sets out Plans for CoordinationThe Subcommittee on Economic and Technical Cooperation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation set out plans to improve coordination among the APEC members, and highlighted a number of cross-sectoral themes, including human resources development and assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises.In a report presented to the ongoing ministerial meeting, the subcommittee issued the first-ever assessment of implementation to date of Part II of the 1995 Osaka Action Agenda, which provided a "road map" to lead member economies toward the goals they set for themselves in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994. It suggested a review of the Joint Activities/Dialogue sections of the action agenda in 2001 with a view to removing tasks that have been accomplished and incorporating new initiatives launched since 1995. About one-third of economic and technical cooperation projects had a human resources development (HRD) aspect, which had spillover benefits in other areas, the report noted. "Those HRD projects aimed at achieving a better informed, more knowledgeable private sector - employers and workers - in turn lead to actual improvements in the way companies do business," it said. Development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would continue to be given a high priority, the subcommittee said, calling for increased private-sector involvement, and for greater access to projects providing access to capital or financing and technology. "Infrastructure, particularly telecommunications, e-commerce, roads and transportation, are also key elements of supporting the development of SMEs in developing economies and remote regions," the report said. |
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