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APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings To be Held Saturday and Sunday
The ninth APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM), the culmination of this week's APEC meetings, will be held in Shanghai Saturday and Sunday under the theme of "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century: Achieving Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation."
The annual gathering of Pacific Rim leaders is a forum of the highest level in the Asia-Pacific region. The idea of "an Asia- Pacific Summit" was first given by then Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in April 1992 and the first informal meeting took place in November 1993 in Seattle, the United States. Before that, APEC had been operating at ministerial level only.
The following is a brief account of previous AELMs:
1. Seattle, the United States, 1993:
The economic leaders discussed topics such as the future of the Asia-Pacific region, regional cooperation and its mechanism. The most remarkable achievement of the meeting was the creation of a vision of community of Asia-Pacific economies. An Economic Vision Statement released by the meeting said that the forum should foster the spirit of openness and partnership, support an open international trading system and reduce trade and investment barriers.
2. Bogor, Indonesia, 1994
The meeting endorsed the Bogor Goals, which envisioned the achievement of free and open trade and investment for developed member economies by 2010 and developing ones by 2020.
The meeting also adopted the Bogor Declaration, known as the Declaration of Common Resolve.
3. Osaka, Japan, 1995
The economic leaders approved the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration for Action (Osaka Declaration) and adopted the Osaka Action Agenda as a framework to achieve the commitments of the Bogor Declaration. The documents firmly established the "two wheels" of APEC activities: trade and investment liberalization and facilitation (TILF) and economic and technical cooperation ( Ecotech). The Osaka Action Agenda also provided for individual action plans and collective action plans for the implementation of the Bogor Goals.
4. Cubic Bay, the Philippines, 1996
The leaders approved the Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA) and the APEC Economic Leaders' Declaration: From Vision to Action. MAPA includes the following themes: greater market access in goods and services, an open investment regime, reduced business costs, an open and efficient infrastructure sector, and strengthened economic and technical cooperation. The APEC leaders also underlined the following six Ecotech areas: developing human capital, fostering safe and efficient capital markets, strengthening economic infrastructure, harnessing technologies of the future, promoting environmentally sustainable growth, and encouraging the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
5. Vancouver, Canada, 1997
The APEC leaders endorsed their ministers' agreement that action should be taken for the early voluntary sectoral liberation in 15 sectors, with nine to be advanced through 1998 and implementation to begin in 1999. They also endorsed the Vancouver Framework for Enhanced Public-Private Partnership for Infrastructure Development.
The Vancouver meeting gave much attention to the financial crisis that swept Southeast Asia.
6. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1988
The leaders reaffirmed their confidence in the strong economic fundamentals and prospects for recovery of the APEC member economies. They agreed to pursue a cooperative growth strategy to end the financial crisis. A number of important documents were approved, including the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration: Strengthening the Foundations for Growth, the 1998 Agenda of APEC Science and Technology Industry Cooperation into the 21st Century, and the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Action Program on Skills Development.
7. Auckland, New Zealand, 1999
The APEC leaders pledged to strengthen markets and improve the international framework governing trade and investment. They also endorsed the APEC Leaders Declaration: the Auckland Challenge, and the APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform.
8. Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, 2000
The major topics of the meeting included globalilzation, the New Economy, economic and technical cooperation and human resource development. The APEC leaders adopted the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration: Delivering to the Community, and Action Agenda for New Economy in 2000.
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