APEC Japan 2010: First Senior Officials' Meeting (Outline and Evaluation)

February 23, 2010
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

The first APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM1) was held on February 22 and 23 in Hiroshima City. Mr. Shigeru Nakamura, Ambassador for International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Hidehiko Nishiyama, Director-General for Trade Policy, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, chaired the meeting and twenty-one member economies attended the meeting.

Outline

1. Regional Economic Integration (REI)

Japan, as Chair, presented and discussed drafts on the following key areas.

1. a. An active exchange of views took place regarding the assessment of achievement of the Bogor Goals (^*1). Many economies expressed the view that the assessment should be highly credible and thorough, and that it should illustrate APEC's achievements so far. Based on this discussion, it was confirmed that the assessment process will continue through work to develop a draft assessment report. Korea announced its intent to participate in the assessment process this year. Including Mexico, which had announced its participation prior to SOM1, currently, eleven economies (^*2), will be the subjects of the assessment process.
2. b. Possible Pathways to an FTAAP (Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific) were discussed. Several economies presented on the various regional efforts in which they are involved. It was confirmed that follow up discussions will be held and that results will be reported at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM).
3. c. Based on a presentation by Japan, discussions were held regarding (i) Accelerating Regional Economic Integration; (ii) Improving the business environment; and (iii) Promoting regional connectivity and trade facilitation. It was confirmed that these areas will be important elements in further discussions on REI, and that APEC will aim for more concrete results.

^*1 Bogor Goals: In 1994, in Bogor, Indonesia, the AELM Declaration held forth the goal that industrialized economies by 2010 and developing economies by 2020 would achieve the goals of free and open trade and investment.

^*2 Economies subject to Bogor Goals assessment in 2010 include: Japan; United States; Canada; Australia; New Zealand; Singapore; Chile; Hong Kong, China; Peru; Mexico; Korea (Underlined economies denote developing economies which voluntarily participate to be assessed.)

2. Growth Strategy

Japan explained the basic outline of the Growth Strategy, which consists of the following main elements: "Balanced Growth", "Inclusive Growth", "Sustainable Growth", and "Knowledge-based Growth". This topic will be important as each economy considers its post-financial crisis growth, so discussions will be deepened, centered on identifying specific projects.

3. Human Security

Officials discussed each field related to Human Security, beginning with food security, countering infectious disease, counter-terrorism, and disaster preparedness. Interest was high particularly regarding food security, and it was confirmed that efforts would be further strengthened in this area.

4. Economic and Technical Cooperation

Japan's proposal on strengthening and rationalizing economic and technical cooperation activities was formally endorsed, and agreement was reached on the medium-term priorities for these activities. Officials confirmed that APEC will implement activities that are more focused and effective.

5. APEC Reform

Officials agreed to proceed with further deliberations, including from an organizational perspective, in order to reconstruct the meaning of APEC as a framework that can respond to new issues facing the international and regional economy.

Evaluation

This was the first formal public meeting hosted by Japan as chair of APEC 2010. Each economy actively contributed to the development of the discussion, including the drafts Japan prepared for the meeting, and explored the direction to proceed in. Each economy expressed high regard for Japan's efforts and preparations in each area and confirmed intentions to accelerate their work under Japan's initiative. Member economies will continue deliberations and work based on this meeting's discussions to produce specific results in each field aimed at the Ministerial Meeting and Leaders' Meeting in November.

In conjunction with this meeting, "2010 APEC Junior Conference in Hiroshima" was held. Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and local businesses also offered their cooperation, contributing to the success of SOM1.