APEC Wants Tangible Results in WTO Upcoming Ministeral Meeting

By Amie Fenia Arimbi Surabaya, East Java (Antara) - Members of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) expect concrete results from the upcoming World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial meeting which will be held in Bali on December, a joint statement of APEC's Minister Related to Trade issued here on Sunday said. The statement is made after the meeting of APEC's Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) held in Surabaya starting April 20-21. "We call on WTO members to change the quality and level of engagement in order to expeditiously and effectively advance work. We also reaffirm commitment to building on the packages of cooperation agreed during the upcoming Bali meeting in order to achieve the full conclusion of Doha Round negotiation," the statement said. APEC members also share the objective that anything agreed during the Bali meeting should encompass a trade facilitation agreement and agreement on some elements of agriculture and development including issues of the interest of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Apart from that, APEC members also reiterate the commitment to show the necessary political will and flexibility to achieve convergence at the WTO ministerial meeting in Bali and urge other members to do the same. Considering its significant influence in the world where APEC economies representing more than half of world's GDP and 44 percent of world trade, APEC accepts responsibility to make significant contribution to securing tangible results at the upcoming WTO's ministerial meeting in Bali. Chairman of APEC Trade-Related Ministerial Meeting 2013 Gita Wirjawan expresses similar expectation saying that "The agenda of the Trade-Related Ministerial meeting in Surabaya will hopefully set up a stepping stone towards the continuation of Doha Round of talks,".(*) (T.A051/C/A.F. Arimbi/A. Abdussalam)