Published: Sunday November 8, 2009 MYT 6:35:00 PM
Updated: Sunday November 8, 2009 MYT 6:36:06 PM
20th Apec kicks off
SINGAPORE: The week-long 20th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting kicked off here Sunday with senior officials from the 21 economies huddled in a meeting room for a day-long retreat session at the vast Suntec International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The officials have two days to conclude their draft reports in time for the Apec Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on Nov 11-12 and the 16th Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) on Nov 12.
At the closed-door meeting Sunday, Malaysia was represented by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s Apec Senior Director N. Vasudevan.
The meeting was chaired by host Singapore’s Apec 2009 Senior Officials Meeting chairman Ravi Menon.
The senior officials are expected to track the progress made by Apec in accelerating economic liberalisation, improving the ease of doing business and enhancing supply chain connectivity between the 21 economies.
Apec had earlier identified five areas for priority reform, namely, Starting a Business, Getting Credit, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing Contracts and Dealing with Permits.
The officials would also be reviewing the efforts to simplify customs procedures and documentation to help companies in the 21 Apec economies fully realise the benefits of free trade areas.
The Apec meeting will culminate with the 17th Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held at the Istana over two days from Nov 14.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is expected to speak on wide-ranging issues, covering economic crisis, multilateral trading system, regional economic integration, economic and technical cooperation, human security and strengthening Apec during the leaders meeting.
However, Najib who will lead the Malaysian delegation, including Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, will be arriving a day earlier on Nov 13.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, has also been invited to participate in the APEC CEO Summit and will speak on the subject “Is the Worst of the Global Crisis Over?” on his arrival day.
This year’s Apec which is themed ‘Sustaining Growth, Connecting the Region’, will also focus on overcoming the economic crisis and positioning member economies for a sustainable recovery in the post-crisis world.
APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. -- Bernama
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