APEC MEETING TO FOCUS ON CR0SS-BORDER TRANSACTIONS, COUNTER-TERRORISM
The leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation will focus on how to reduce costs of cross-border trade in a report due to be released at a meeting next week in Los Cabos, Mexico.
The “2002 APEC Committee on Trade and Investment Annual Report” will present ministers of the region with an outline of accomplishments and recommendations designed to improve trade and investment between APEC economies.
“An important part of realizing the APEC goal of creating the world’s largest free trade and investment area by the years 2010 for industrialized APEC economies and 2020 for developing ones, is the reduction of transaction costs and red tape,” said Ng Kim Neo, chairman of APEC Committee on Trade and Investment.
“Increased transparency of policies and procedures between economies enables a healthier economic environment where the business sector can plan with greater certainty and predictability in cross-border trading activities,” she said.
The APEC Ministerial Meeting will be held Oct. 23-24 and the APEC Leader’s Meeting takes place Oct. 26-27.
At the APE Leader's Meeting, the region’s 21 national leaders will receive a report on how to improve their counter-terrorism measures.
“The recent terrorist bombing in Bali, the Sept. 11 attacks and other terrorist incidents are a direct challenge to the APEC’s vision of free, open and prosperous economies,” said APEC Secretariat Executive Director Amb. Alejandro de la Pena in a statement.
“At APEC we have set the twin goals of enhancing security against terrorist threats together with the continued facilitation of the movement of goods, capital and people within the region,” de la Pena added.
The “APEC Secretariat Final Report on Implementation of the Leaders’ Statement on Counter-terrorism” outlines six specific areas in which member countries have pledged to intensify counter-terrorism measures:
* Suppression of terrorist financing.
* Enhanced aviation and maritime security.
* Energy security.
* Telecommunications, information and other “critical sector” protection.
* Customs procedures.
* Border security.