Prime Minister Notes Results of APEC 1998


November 18, 1998
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today welcomed the fact that APEC Leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to liberalization of trade in Asia-Pacific, despite the difficult financial situation faced by the region. The Prime Minister made his comments at the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Despite financial instability and the temptation to retrench, leaders and senior officials from 21 diverse economies have come together here in Kuala Lumpur and agreed that trade liberalization, open markets and cooperation are still the best ways of ensuring prosperity and a better quality of life for our people," said the Prime Minister. "It is true that we had hoped to do more this year within APEC on sectoral liberalization, but I believe the decision to finalize this work within the World Trade Organization is a good solution."

The 1998 APEC Economic Leaders Meeting focussed on strengthening the foundations for growth, including social safety nets, financial systems, trade facilitation, investment and human resources. The Prime Minister noted that leaders had fully discussed the financial aspect of the crisis, including the issue of short-term capital flows. "We have developed a good game plan on the financial side as well as one that addresses the human face of the crisis," said the Prime Minister.

Key results of the meeting include:

  • a commitment to a cooperative growth strategy;

  • echoing Canadian priorities and initiatives - an agreement to strengthen the international financial system, including better financial supervision, transparency, and private sector participation in crisis management;

  • agreement on the need to continue joint work by both industrialized and emerging market economies on financial archictecture issues, notably through a task force to examine short term capital flows and the operations of hedge funds and similar institutions;

  • endorsement of the APEC Women's Ministerial recommendations (co-hosted by Canada and the Philippines) for a Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC;

  • a mandate for ministers to formulate strategies of concrete actions to strengthen social safety nets and to intensify efforts to address the social impacts of the crisis;

  • the conclusion of a Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce and agreement to accelerate implementation of measures to address the problems of Y2K; and,

  • the establishment of a Framework for Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building.

    • APEC Economic Leaders will next meet in Auckland, New Zealand next September.

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