Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth

Economic Committee Report

58. Ministers endorsed the Economic Committee (EC)'s Report for 2001 and welcomed the progress made in its four core projects: (1) 2001 APEC Economic Outlook; (2) the New Economy and APEC; (3) the Benefits of TILF; (4) the Implementation Plan for KBE Recommendations. Ministers welcomed the 2001 APEC Economic Outlook especially its thematic study on financial development and economic growth, which is particularly timely in face of the current global economic slowdown and member economies' collective resolve to foster long-term economic vitality. They also endorsed The New Economy and APEC report that offers a conceptual framework and useful elements for creating an environment in which the New Economy could develop. Ministers acknowledged the importance of the Benefits of TILF projects, which emphasized the creation of more open and free trade and investment environment. Ministers urged the continuous implementation of the KBE Recommendations and instructed the EC to continue its work on KBE issues. Interaction with the Finance Ministers' Process

59. Ministers welcomed the outcomes from the 8th APEC Finance Ministers' process, and were encouraged by the efforts and contribution made by the Finance Ministers under the policy theme of "Growth with Restructuring, Stability and Equity" in the year of 2001. They acknowledged the important role of the Finance Ministers' process in taking appropriate policies in a timely manner and constructing a stronger macroeconomic foundation for the region in the long run.

60. Ministers welcomed the practice of strengthening linkages and communications between the Finance Ministers' process and the SOM process in 2001 with a view to ensuring the work programs coordinate and complement each other. Given the current global and regional economic downturn, Ministers further underlined the importance of continuing the inter-process briefing and exchange of views between the Finance Ministers' process and SOM on a regular basis so as to facilitate information sharing and coordination.

61. Ministers welcomed the APEC Finance and Development Program proposed by China, which aims at enhancing capacity building in the areas of financial market management especially for developing economies across the APEC region.

62. Ministers also welcomed the report "Towards Better Company Accounting and Financial Reporting" prepared for and accepted by the APEC Finance Ministers, and encouraged member economies to raise awareness of the importance of robust financial reporting, accounting, auditing and enforcement practices supported by a sound legal, professional and regulatory infrastructure.

Social Impact of the Crisis

63. Ministers welcomed the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Strengthening APEC Social Safety Nets (SSN). They endorsed the proposed establishment of an APEC SSN Capacity Building Network that, in the first instance, would focus on capacity building to implement the SSN recommendations made by the Finance Ministers and in the study conducted in the HRDWG. Ministers welcomed the proposals by Korea and Thailand to co-organize an international meeting to address specific capacity building issues on SSN.

Energy

64. Energy security stands as an important issue for economic development and regional prosperity. In light of the terrorist attacks in the United States, Ministers directed the EWG to intensify its work on strengthening the security and reliability of affordable energy to all in APEC, through such means as exchange of information and experience on oil stockpiling, on facilitating energy efficiency and conservation, and on facilitating improved stability in the provision of energy supply to meet demand. They called for further energy technology development, exchange, application and deployment, and for the facilitation of a diverse and efficient supply mix to avoid the risks posed to the economy by volatility in the international oil market. Ministers welcomed the progress made on the Energy Security Initiative and directed the EWG to implement the concrete work in the progress report on the Initiative. They also called on economies to encourage greater private sector involvement in the EWG work program and the EWG to cooperate closely with the EWG Business Network. Ministers requested Senior Officials to report in 2002 on progress made in the Initiative.

Interaction with the Community

Dialogue with ABAC

65. Ministers welcomed the ABAC Report to Leaders, Common Development through Market Opening, Capacity Building and Full Participation. They noted the four key messages to the Leaders, calling on APEC economies (1) to accelerate progress towards the Bogor Goals of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation; (2) to demonstrate strong support for the launch of new WTO round; (3) to take decisive measures to stimulate economic growth and accelerate financial reforms; and (4) to adopt a balanced approach to globalization that combines market opening, capacity-building and full participation. In light of the broadening and deepening of regional and global economic integration, Ministers noted that the four messages presented by the ABAC Report contribute to the APEC process in the new century. Ministers recognized that regular consultation with business, including SMEs, would ensure that APEC work remains focused and has practical usefulness for business. Ministers also noted the importance of the BizAPEC website for APEC's engagement and communication with business.

Youth

66. Ministers commended China and Canada for their initiative in organizing the highly successful APEC Youth Festival/Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Forum, welcomed in particular the complementarity between this event and APEC work in connection with engagement with the private sector, the new economy and human capacity building, and encouraged that complementarity with the APEC agenda be a key characteristic of future APEC projects aimed at young people.

67. Ministers commended Mexico's offer to organize the 2002 APEC Youth Festival.

Framework for Integration of Women

68. Ministers commended Ad-hoc Group on Gender Integration (AGGI)'s achievements over the past two years and endorsed SOM's report on the Implementation of the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC. They endorsed SOM's recommendations including the extension of AGGI's term to the end of 2002 in order to enable it to complete its work.

69. Ministers emphasized the importance of and their commitment to the involvement of women in the activities of APEC. They instructed officials and APEC fora to continue to ensure that women are involved in and benefit from their work. Ministers tasked officials to complete the development of monitoring mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of gender mainstreaming initiatives in APEC.

70. Ministers welcomed Mexico's offer to host the Second Ministerial Meeting on Women in 2002, and urged members to ensure full participation in the lead up to and during the meeting. Ministers took note of the proposed research project on fostering SMEs and micro-businesses through IT capacity-building for women.

Communications and Outreach Strategy

71. The movement towards global integration presented the greatest opportunity to deliver higher living standards and improved social well-being for APEC communities. Ministers reaffirmed that the benefits of globalization should be shared by and be better communicated to APEC communities. In this regard, Ministers welcomed the report on "Globalisation and Poverty: Turning the Corner". Ministers also noted that ABAC has expressed its intentions to improve its outreach and encouraged continuous efforts in fostering productive partnership and cooperation with the private sector.

72. In this regard, Ministers accepted the SOM Report on APEC Interaction and on Public Outreach and Communications, reinforcing the importance for APEC of ensuring appropriate community engagement and input in its work, and endorsed the APEC Communications and Outreach Strategy. In this connection, they welcomed commitments by economies to provide resources to support APEC-wide work in outreach, as well as to encourage domestic programs that explain APEC's work and the benefits of open markets. Ministers further instructed relevant APEC fora to identify and invite the participation of outside groups that can make a contribution to their work. Ministers also directed Senior Officials to make further progress in examining the possibility of simplifying the management and administration of the guidelines on non-member participation within the existing policy principles and report the result next year.

Management Issues

2002 Budget

73. Ministers endorsed the SOM Chair's report on budget and management issues and approved the contributions from member economies for 2002 to the APEC Central Fund totaling US$3,338,000 and the 2002 budget totaling US$8,576,395.

74. Ministers further instructed Senior Officials to continue their work in improving efficiency and effective use of time in all APEC fora, particularly by undertaking further work in the area of reporting requirements and project-related procedures, as well as clarifying a standard expectation of Secretariat support for APEC fora, and to report to the next Ministerial meeting on the progress made.

APEC Secretariat

75. Ministers took note and welcomed the report of the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, and expressed their appreciation to Amb. Zhang Yan and the staff of the Secretariat for their devotion and contribution to the APEC process. Ministers also thanked the Singapore government for its generosity in constructing a new office building for the Secretariat to be ready in 2002.

Other Issues

Statement by Observers

76. Ministers took note of the statements by ASEAN Secretariat, PECC and PIF.

APEC 2002

77. Ministers thanked Mexico for the briefing on preparations for the Fourteenth APEC Ministerial Meeting and the Tenth APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico. The preliminary list of priority issues embodies, inter alia:

Growth policies for the new economy, including appropriate trade and investment, macro-economic, financial and business facilitation policies;?¤ Building capacities to reap the benefits of economic development including the promotion of SMEs and micro-enterprises;?¤ Making APEC a more relevant forum to our people, including fostering greater participation of youth and women, stepping up our efforts in communicating the benefits of globalization and the improvement of the functioning of APEC.

The overall framework is to implement our shared vision of expanding the benefits of economic growth and development.

Future Meetings

78. Ministers noted the 2003 to 2005 Ministerial Meetings will be held in Thailand, Chile and the Republic of Korea respectively.

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