E-APEC Strategy to Be Made Appendix to Leaders' Declaration

The e-APEC Strategy adopted at the APEC ministerial meeting which closed here Thursday will be submitted to the Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) scheduled for October 20-21 and is expected to become an appendix to the Leaders' Declaration, a senior APEC official said here Friday.

Chen Yin, chairman of APEC's e-APEC Task Force, told a news conference that e-APEC will be a forward-looking, long-term and action-oriented plan under three pillars, namely, the creation of an environment for strengthening market structure and institutions, the facilitation of an environment for infrastructure investment and technological development, and the enhancement of human capacity building and the promotion of entrepreneurship.

In a bid to address the challenges of the New Economy, many countries and regions have drafted similar plans, such as Europe's e-Europe strategy and e-ASEAN strategy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The APEC Economic Leaders Meeting held in Brunei last year launched the Action Agenda for the New Economy, in which the leaders demonstrated their determination to build a digital society in the Asia-Pacific region.

The action agenda provides the goal that by 2005, Internet connection-ins within APEC economies will be three times over those of 2000. The e-APEC Task Force was set up and has drafted the e-APEC Strategy in a year's efforts.

Larry Greenwood, a vice-chairman for the task force and a senior APEC official from the United States, said the adoption of the e-APEC Strategy is an important achievement of this year's APEC meetings, which he said will help promote the development and application of information technology in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pamela Fayle, another vice-chairman and a senior APEC official from Australia, underscored the significance of e-APEC. She said the realization of electronic and paperless trade in the region, for example, will save APEC economies 60 billion U.S. dollars a year.






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