From the perspective that Japan believes that it ought to play a major role in supporting the ongoing development of the Asia-Pacific region, and that the economy of the Asia-Pacific region is playing an expanding role in contributing to the growth of the world economy as we approach the 21st century, Japan views with great importance cooperation toward economic development in th Asia-Pacific region through APEC, which is the central forum for that purpose. In recent years, there has been no slackening of the remarkable pace of the dynamic economic development of this region, and Japan believes that it is of vital importance for its own future to be actively engaged in a leadership role in economic cooperation for the Asia-Pacific region and in guiding that region along a mutually beneficial path.
As the APEC Chair this year, Japan bears an important responsibility to formulate an "Action Agenda" which will clarify the long and medium term principles of APEC actions. In the Senior Officials Meetings and other various meetings which have taken place in APEC thus far, Japan has displayed leadership toward this end. The forthcoming Action Agenda will be broad-based and will cover such diverse matters as liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment and economic and technical cooperation.
The significance of this Action Agenda is, first of all, that it is being crafted as the first strategic framework for APEC activities and as a comprehensive yet detailed structure which will guide APEC for the medium and long term with a view to laying a solid path to the realization of the vision stated in the Bogor Declaration.
Secondly, the significance of this "Action Agenda" stems from the commitment of each member to engage voluntarily in joint actions to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment in a manner that is other than "negotiation" at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the Asia-Pacific region, independent market-opening efforts and deregulatory measuers have served as the moving force for economic development, and at the meetings in Osaka by achieving fully significant results, APEC can demonstrate to the world the unique "Asia-Pacific Formula" for economic development.
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