APEC

Mention APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and you conjure up images of people protesting and lots of issues. In reality APEC does quite a bit and trys to achieve things although they don't always manage it. This hub has more information about APEC and the latest APEC news.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an economic forum for a group of Pacific Rim countries to discuss matters on regional economy, cooperation, trade and investment. Together, these countries represent about 60% of the world economy (World Bank). Ministers from the member economies meet on a continual basis throughout the year. The activities are coordinated by the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore.

The organization conducts the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, an annual summit attended by the heads of government of all APEC members except Chinese Taipei, which is represented by a ministerial-level official. The location of the summit rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host member. APEC Australia 2007 is currently being held in Sydney.

History In January 1989, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke called for more effective economic cooperation across the Asia Pacific region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in Canberra, Australia in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by political ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments for future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Malaysia initially opposed APEC membership for countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and instead proposed the East Asia Economic Caucus, which would exclude countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The plan was opposed and strongly criticized by Japan and the United States.

The first APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting occurred in 1993, when United States President Bill Clinton invited the heads of government from member economies to a summit on Blake Island, believing it would help bring the stalled Uruguay Round of trade talks on track. At the summit, leaders called for continued reduction of barriers trade and investment, envisioning a community in the Asia-Pacific region that promotes prosperity through cooperation. The APEC Secretariat was established in Singapore to coordinate the activities of the organization.

In the summit of 1994 in Bogor, APEC adopted the Bogor Goals that aimed to reduce trade tariffs to below five percent in the Asia-Pacific region, by 2010 for industrialized economies and by 2020 for developing economies. In 1995, APEC established a business advisory body named the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), comprised of three business executives from each member economy.