Attendance of Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi
at Ninth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Ministerial Meeting

November 21, 1997

Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi will visit Vancouver, Canada, from November 21 (Fri.) to 24 (Mon.) to attend the Ninth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting as a representative of the Japanese Government.
This Ministerial Meeting will be attended by the ministers in charge of foreign affairs and economy from Australia, Brunei, Canada (Chair), Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, R.O.K, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S.A. Representatives from areas such as Hong Kong (China) and Chinese Taipei will also attend the Meeting.
The forthcoming meeting will discuss the revision of individual action agendas, which are for more liberal and smooth trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, where interdependence has been developing. There will also be discussions on the specification of sectors which should be liberalized voluntarily and quickly, economic and technological cooperation, in particular, the strengthening of infrastructure, and environmental cooperation. It is also expected that talks between the APEC representatives and the private sector will take the form of an exchange of views between the ministers of APEC members and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
During his stay in Vancouver, Mr. Obuchi is planning to have talks with ministers from other countries individually.

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