Indonesia Commited to Making APEC Contribute to Dohan Round

By Edi Utama Surabaya, East Java (Antara) - A series of meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic (APEC) forum held in Indonesia this year are expected to contribute to the continuation of the Doha Round negotiation, according to an Indonesian minister. "The agenda of the Trade-Related Ministerial meeting in Surabaya will hopefully set up a stepping stone towards continuation of the Doha Round talks," said Indonesia's Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, told media here Friday at the two-day meeting of the forum's senior officials (SOM) previously held. Gita also reminded the APEC economies to ensure its movement towards the realization of the Bogor Goals by 2020 when trade liberalization is among the main points emphasized in it. The MRT meeting on 20-21 April has been preceded by a series of meetings at the level of sub-fora and working groups since April 7, 2013, whose results were subsequently summarized in the meetings of the Committee on Trade and Investment, Economic Committee and Sub-Committee. Earlier Chairman of the APEC Committee of Trade and Investment (CTI) Iman Pambagyo said APEC senior officers have agreed to bring some critical issues related to the DOHA Round talks during the APEC meetings this year. "In the last nine to ten years after the declaration of the Doha Round, we seem to have been stuck and made no progress. In fact, we are getting closer and closer to 2020 when the free trade and free investment are to be implemented," said Pambagyo, who is also Indonesian Ministry of Trade's Director General of International Trade Cooperation. Therefore, Pambagyo noted APEC economies will make sure that the Doha Round should continue to make progress serving wide interest with fairness and along with economic growth. "The point is that we will start from APEC economic issues related with the Doha Round and give significant impact to it," he said. According to Pambagyo, APEC will call on the global community to implement trade facilitation as well as fairness for all countries. Delegates from 19 out of APEC's 21 member economies already in Surabaya are Vietnam, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Chinese Taipei, China, Mexico, Malaysia, Canada, Russia, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. They include Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sang-jick Yoon and Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Thai Minister of Commerce Piramol Charoenpao, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimmitsu Motegi, Chile's Vice Minister of Trade Alvaro Jana, China's Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng.(*) (T.E004/A/B. Purwanto/B. Purwanto)